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Researches into the origin of the primlt

3 1924 012 310 664

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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012310664

TtESEAECHES INTO THE ORIGIN OF THE

PEIMITIYE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE

GEEEKS, PHOENICIANS AND

BABYLONIANS.

^Ji-^iJpS-fe^

EESEAECHES

INTO THE ORIGIN OF THE

PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS

OF THE

GREEKS, PHOENICIANS AND
BABILONIANS

BY

ROBERT BROWN, Jun., f.s.a., m.r.a.s.

AUTHOR OF ' P0SEID6n,' 'THE GREAT DIONYSIAK MYTH,' 'LANGUAGE, AND THEORIES OF

ITS ORIGIN,' 'THE UNICORN,' 'THE LAW OF KOSMIC ORDER,' ' ERIDANUS, RIVER

AND CONaTKLLATTON,' 'iHE MYTH OF K1RK£,' 'THE HEAVENLY DISPLAY

OF ARATOS,' ' TELLI3 AND KLKOBBIA,' 'SEMITIC INFLUENCE IN

HELLENIC MYTHOLOGY,' ETC.

'El' AioQ KijTToiQ. — SopHOKLES, Kveoiisa, Frag. iv.

VOL. I.

WILLIAMS Ai^TD NORGATE,

14, HENRIETTA STEEET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON ;

20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH j akd

7, BROAD STEEET, OXFORD.

1899.

EESEAECHES

INTO THE OBIGIN OF THE

PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS

OF THE

GREEKS, PHOENICIANS AND
BABYLONIANS

ROBERT BROWN, Jun., f.s.a., m.r.a.s.

AUTHOR OF 'POSKIDdN,' * THE OKEAT DI0NY5IAK MYTTTj' 'LANGUAGE, AND THKORIES OF

ITS ORIGIN,' 'THK unicorn,' ' THE LAW OF KOSMIC ORDER,' ' EBIDANUS, RIVER

AND OONyTKLLATION,' 'iHE MYTH OF K1Rk£,' 'THE HEAVENLY DISPLAY

OF ARATOS,' ' TELLI9 AND KLEOBEIA,' 'SEMITIC INFLUENCE IN

HELLENIC MYTHOLOUY,' ETC.

'Er AiuQ KiiTTQiQ. — SopHOKLES, Kveousa, Frag. iv.

VOL. I.

WILLIAMS A^TD NOEGATE,

14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON

20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH ; and

7, BROAD STREET., OXFORD.

1899.

802.

XTI

lHn

\o'^

^. is> t i-L

\}. E.

,.'' ^■•- ,'

5r0 ti)z

Rev. a. H. SAYCE,

J?roj'e.ii!or i)f Axxijriolofjij in the Uuiveriiitij of O.rfonl,
WITH RESPECT AXD REGARD.

PREFACE.

The time has at length arrived when hy the aid of
modern investigation of the history and literature of
the ancient nations of AVestern Asia, it is possible to
commence a scientific research into the origin of the
classical Constellation-figures. The A^ery fact that
these mysterious forms were the common property of
the greater part of the earlier civilized world, as they
have been accepted and adopted by the whole of
modern civilization, invests them with a special and
peculiar interest. Such an enquiry is no mere matter
of musty antiquarian exploration; it constitutes an
important study of the mind of the man of bygone
ages. It introduces us alike to the history of great
centres of civilization, and to the triumphs and
achievements of individual genius. It makes us
ponder on some of those first steps upon the path of
knowledge which were so hard to take, but which
form the foundation of our present vast acquisitions.
It reveals to us the religious idea in many variant
and most interesting phases. And by the light of
cuneiform decipherment, we are enabled to exchange
crude conjecture and arbitrary fancies for general
certainty and harmonious historical transmission and
development. We can see the keen-witted Greek
stealing from Western Asia the fire of knowledge, as
he was subsequently to rob her of power ; and we

X PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

can observe the mistake by which the introducer is
so frequently confounded with the originator.

The reader who may wish to refer to my
previous writings on this and kindred subjects will
find many of them enumerated under the head of
'Abbreviations': and I particularly commend to his
attention mv translation of the Phainoviena of Aratos.
In the Heavenly DisijJay I have shown by astro-
nomical arguments that the statements of the Greek
poet, wholly incorrect when applied to his own age,
are quite applicable to the latitude of Babylon, cir.
B.C. i084; and that thus astronomy unites with
history and archaeology in pointing to the Euphrates
Valley as the home of the Signs of the Zodiac and of
various others of the ancient Constellation-figures.
The present volume of this work is mainly concerned
with the Hellenic history of the Signs, including their
place in the art of the various nations with whom
the earlier Greeks came in contact ; and the volume
concludes with a notice of the Graeco-Babylonian
period of Seleukos and his successors. In the second
volume I shall endeavour to trace the Constellation -
figures backward from the era of Alexander until
their first appearance in the dawn of history. The
amount of material available for this pui-pose wili
necessarily greatly depend upon whether the
Authorities at the British Museum give to the
public copies of the great mass of the yet unpublished
astronomical tablets.

PEKFACE. XI

I have inserted a careful translation of the famous
Star-catalogue contained in Ptolemy's Almfu/cvf,
because it is the outcome of all previous stellar lists
find is founded on Euphratean materials. I have also
appended notes to the Constellation-figures of the
Catalogue, showing their earlier history, and, to
ii considerable extent, explaining their origins.
This is done in order that the reader may at once
understand the general scheme and theory of the
work, and additional illustrations and detail will
be added subsequently. I have been already enabled
by the aid of Fragments Sm. 162 ; Xo. 83-1-18,
•G08 ; and No. 81-7-27, 94, combined with the
Account in Diodoros, ii. 30-31, to reconstruct the
Sumero-Semitic Euphratean Planisphere, a diagram
of which I propose to give in the second volume of
this work.

Whether I differ from or agree with the numerous
illustrious scholars whose names occur in my pages,
I truly admire their abilities and am grateful to them
for efforts which alone have made such a work as
this possible. In the spelling of names, I generally
.adopt the original forms, because they are the most
-correct. Severe logical uniformity in this matter is
not at present attainable. A correct practice is,
however, steadily gaining ground, notwithstanding
divers violent protests on the part of some of those
who think that Time can consecrate error and canonise
ignorance. I quite admit that in ordinary conversa-

Xll PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS.

tioii it would be absurd to call Calcutta ' Kalighat ' ;
but in a historical work it is not absurd to call
Darius ' Darayavaush,' inasmuch as that was his
name. Because the Greeks altered Khshayarsha iiito
Xei'xes, we are not compelled to speak of Louise de
Querouaille as Madam ' Carwell ' or Madam 'Cure-
all.' If the use of a correct form be ' pedantry,' then,
instead of playing Macbeth with archaeological
correctness, let him appear, as of yore, in a bag-wig
and silk stockings.

In a Avork like the present, addressed to general
readers, it is quite unnecessary to use diacritical
marks ; nor, as a general principle, is anything
gained by writing h, s and *■ for Jch, ts and sh. The
Heb. (/opA-sound is better rendered by q than by h

The conclusions at which I have arrived represent
the results of a study extending over many years,
and my special thanks are due to Prof. Sayce and to
Mr. T. G. Pinches for much assistance most freel}'
given; whilst, at the same time, I am alone responsible
for the statements, theories, and arguments of the
work.

Bakton-on-Humbee :
Fehrnary, 1899.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory.

Interest and importance of the subject — Non-Aryan influence in
Hellenic mythology, art, and belief — The Signs of the
Zodiac and other constellation-figures received by the
Greeks from Non- Aryans of Western Asia — Various works
specially connected with the enquiry — A plea for careful
criticism .... . . 1

CHAPTER II.

The Primitive Constellations of the Greeks.

List of the Constellations of Eudoxos — The Constellations of
Aratos and of the Hipparcho-Ptolemy Star-list — Classical
Constellations added subsequently to the time of Aratos —
Constellations added subsequently to the Classical period —
The Lunar Zodiac — Adoption of the Constellations of the
Greeks by the Romans, Persians, Indians, Arabs, and by
the nations of Western Asia generally — The Arabian Lunar
Mansions — Chinese and Egyptian Constellations . 10

CHAPTER III.

The Hippaecho-Ptolemt Star-list.
The Star-catalogues of Hipparchos and Ptolemy practically
identical — Translation of the List with notes on the
various constellations — Little Bear — Great Bear — Serpent —
Kepheus — Ploughman — Northern Crown — Kneeler — Lijre —
Bird — Kassiepeia — Perseus — Charioteer — Snalce-holder —
Snake — Arrow — Eagle — Dolphin — Foremost-part-of-a-Horse
— Horse — Andromeda — Triangle — Ram — Bull — Twins —
Crah — Lion — Virgin — Claws — Scorpion — Archer — Gapri-
gorn — Water-pourer — Fishes — Sea-monster — Orion — Stream

Hare — Dog — Fore-dog — ArgC — Water-snahe — Bowl —

Qrow — Centaur — Wild-heast — Censer — Southern Crown —
Southern Fish — Phoenician names of the Constellations
of the Northern Hemisphere .... -<>

XIV PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

CHAPTEK IV.

The Constellations in Greek Liteeatuee feom Eudoxos to-

Hf;siOD.

The works of Eudoxos— Platoa — Early maps and globes —
Oinopides— Kleostratos — Arktinos — Eumelos — Meton and
Euktemon— K. 0. Miiller's theory of early Greek constel-
lations criticised — The Arrow as an illustration of the
Author's principles — Euripides — Sophokles — Aischylos —
Anakreon — Sappho — Pindar — Theognis — Simonidesof Keds
— Alkman — Alkaios — Stesichoros— Korinna — Hekataios —
Coin of Phaistos — Hellanicos — Pherekydes of Athens —
Thales — Lost Phoenician treatises on the Constellation-
figures — Pythagoras — Epimenides — Peisandros — Pisinos —
Panyasis — Aglaosthenes — Hesiod — The Tlieogonia — The
Erga Jcai Henerai — Results of the examination . 120

CHAPTER V.

The Peimitive Constellations of the Greeks considered in
connexion- with the earlier coin-types.

Importance of Numismatics in the enquiry — Coinage of
Phoenicia — Etruscan coin-types — Coinage of Lykia — Coin-
age of Lydia — Greek Coinage — Mj'sia — Troas — Aiolis —
Lesbos — Ionia — Doris — Krete — Southern Aigaion Islands
— Northern Aigaion Islands — Sikelia — Thessalia — lUyria
— Epeiros — Korkyra — Akarnania — Lokris — Phokis —
Boiotia — Attike — Megara — Aigina — Korinthos — Achaia —
Elis — Kephallenia — Zakynthos — Kythera — Messenia —
Lakonike — Argolis — Arkadia — Hellenic Italy — Eastern
Hellas — Every Constellation-figure except Orion repre-
sented on coins ...... 161

CHAPTER VI.
Homeric Refeeekces to the Constellations.
The Epic Cycle — Homeric Hymns — Influence of Western Asia
on the Ilmd and Odyssey — Nearly the whole of the subjects
of the Constellation-figures found in Homer — Constellations
named in Homer — Absurdity of the argument from silence —
Oriun — The Bear — The Wain— The Clusterers—Tho Hog —
The Ploughman — The Baintj -ones— HeraMes in Homer —
Kastor and Polydoukes .... 2i2

CONTENTS. X\'

CHAPTER Vir.

Constellation-subjects appearing in the early unnumismatic
Art of the Aigaion seaboard and op Asia Minor.

Early symbolic treatment of familiar objects — Constellation-
.suhjects at Troia — At Tiryns — At Mykenai — At Tbasos —
Kretan Pictograpbs — Constellation-subjects on Gems —
Devices on shields — Constellation-subjects on Greek Vases
Constellation-subjects in the Art of Kypros — Constellation-
subjects in the Hittite script — Prof. D'Arcy Thompson
on a theory of Prof. Ridgeway's respecting types and
symbols . . . 294

CHAPTER YIII.

Babylonian Astronomy after Alexander.

Bab\]6n from the age of Kuras to the death of Alexander —
Seleukos — Slow decay of the city of Babylon — Scientific
achievements of the Babylonian astronomers — Their know-
ledge not derived from the Greeks — Refutation of the
statement that there are ' no real astronomical documents '
before the Greek period — Berosos — Enphratean numbers —
The Circle-cycle of the ten Antediluvian Kings — Connexion
of Euphratean with Persian and Indian kosmic periods —
The five planetary divinities — Euphratean connexion of
the orientation of Greek temples — Translation of Tablets
No. 137, 82-7-4 and Rm. iv. 897 — Babylonian astronomical
torms — Sumero- Akkadian and Semitic names of the Seven
Planets — List of Euphi'atean words in the Lexihon of
Hesychios — The Euphratean kosmogony preserved by
Damaskios — dgen-Okeanos . 314

ILLVSTrx.ATIONS.

ilap of the Northern Hemisphere as viewed from Phoenicia

B.C. 1200 to face 119

Biiules, according to the Hipparcho-Ptolemy Star- list to face 282
The Enphratean Celestial Sphere— Cancer, and some Stars

adjoining ... ... ... ... ... ... to face 338

ABBREVIATIONS.

Brown, Robt., Jr., P. = Poseidon, 1872.

0. B. M. = The Great Bionysiah Myth, 2 vols.

1877-8.

TJ. = The Unicorn : a Mythological Investiga-
tion, 1881.

. Tj. K. 0. = The Law of Kosmic Order, 1882.

B. = Eridanus : Biver and Constellation, 1883.

K. = The Myth of Kirke, 188.3.

If. D. = The Phainomena or 'Heavenly Bisplay '

of Aratos, 1885.

V.^The Zodiacal Virgo, 1886 {Yorkshire

Archaeological Journal, Part xxxvi.).

30 S. = Bewarlcs on the Tablet of the Thirty

Stars, 1890 (Proceedings of the Society
of Biblical Archaeology).

Z. = Remarks on the Buphratean Astronomical

Names of the Signs of the Zodiac, 1891
{Proc. Soc. Bib. Archaeol.).

B. S. It. = Buphratean Stellar liesearches,

Parts I.-V., 1892-6 (Proc. Soc. Bib.
Archaeol.).

G.E.A. = The Celestial Bquator of Aratos,

1892 (Transactions of the Ninth Inter-
national Congress of Orientalists).

0. X. G. = The Origin of the Ancient Northern

Constellation-figures, 1897 (Journal oi the
Royal Asiatic Society).

Sem. = Semitic Influence in Hellenic Myth-
ology, 1898.

W. A. I. = Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vols. I.-V.

K. = Kouyunjik Collection of Cuneiform Tablets (British Museum).

Ak. = Akkadian.

Ar. = Arabic.

As. = Assyrian.

Bab. = Babylonian.

Eg. = Egyptian.

Et. = Etruscan.

Ph. = Phoenician.

■Sem. =^ Semitic.

Sk. = Sanskrit.

Sum. = Sumerian.

PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory.

The remarkable discoveries in history, archaeology,
and linguistics made during the last iifty years, have
at length rendered it possible to commence an investi-
gation into the origin of the constellation-figures of
the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Babylonians "n'ith some
prospect of success. Future researches will doubt-
less, to a great extent, complete the study ; but
sufficient material is already available for a pre-
liminary effort. As the world at large, with some
insignificant exceptions, has for many centuries
adopted these mysterious figures, the subject is of
world-wide interest ; involving also, as it does,
highly important questions of psychology, archaeo-
logy, histoiy and linguistic, and of the right under-
standing of the statements of numerous ancient
authorities. It is an arduous task, for the student
should be familiar, to a considerable extent, alike
with the systems of ancient religion and of modern
mythologists ; with the cuneiform records and with
the sacred books of Iran; with recent exploration
in the countries bordering on the eastern Mediter-
ranean ; with Classical and Arabian authorities, with
inscriptions, coins and gems. But, like nearl}^ all
original research, it is highly interesting to the
trained mind; and the weighing of evidence, and

1

2 TEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [l

the investigation of conflicting claims and proba-
bilities, resulting in the production of order out of
apparent chaos, although involving laborious effort,
is yet most truly fascinating.

It is not this or that system of mythology or
standpoint of investigation which will by itself suffice
to explain the extraordinary gallimaufrey of myth,
history, ritual, and belief which we find in Plellas.
The Natural Phenomena theory, anthropology, folk-
lore, and patient and scientific historical investigation
must all join hands. At the present time it is
especially the latter element which calls for adequate
treatment. A century ago and earlier the theory of
non-Aryan influence in Hellas reigned supreme.
Then came the great German reaction, when the
dreams of a mass of bygone ignorance, baseless
history and preposterous philology were swept
away. Excess in the opposite direction followed as
of course. Non-Ar3'an influence, Semitic influence in
Hellas was regarded as almost absolutely imaginary ;
and the high-water mark of this school was
perhaps reached in the assertion that Kadmos (Sem.
Qadmun, Bab. -As. Qadmu) was a purely Greek
name. This standpoint, also, has been rightly aban-
doned; and non-Aryan Asia again invades Europe.
Influences Sum ero- Akkadian, Babjdonian, Assyrian,
Hittite, Phoenician, not to mention those of Egypt,
are now allowed by all competent students to have
made themselves felt in Hellas, borne on the winp's
of conquest, commerce and colonization. Some
scholars concede more, some less to such factors,
but, in any case, it is merely a question of degree ;
and, following in the footsteps of certain great
masters, I shall endeavour to show in this, as I have,

l] INTRODUCTORY. 3

to some extent, already done in previous works, that
the area of these influences was far wider and their
permanent effect far deeper than is generally sup-
posed. The writer who, Avhen properly understood,
perhaps more than all others enables us to recon-
struct the earliest history of continental Hellas, is
Pausanias. Of this fact I have given numerous
illustrations in a previous work (Sem.), which is
introductory to the present treatise. There the
reader Avill find, traced in detail, how non-Aryan
ceuti'es are either responsible for or have greatly
affected many of the most remai'kable personages of
Greek mythology and religion, such as Kronos,^
Poseidon, Aphrodite, Dionysos, Hekate, Herakles,
Athamas, Kirke, Palamedes, and many others.
There, too, I have given very briefly some of the

1 A critic in Literature rejects my derivation of ' Kronos '
as 'the Powerful' (lit. 'the Horned '),' because a deity so-called
would certainly have been represented with horns.' On the
contrary, what is really certain is that the early Hellenes,
when they adopted horned Semitic divinities, e.g., Astarte
(= Aphrodite) and Eabani the Centaur {= Cheiron), unhorned
them, in accordance with the Greek principle of anthropo-
morphism. I justify this derivation of ' Kronos ' both generally
and by particular philological instances. My critic refers to
a suggestion of Brugmann that Gk. Kronos = Sk. Kranas
('Maker' or 'Creator'). Now a 'maker' or 'creator' is just
what Kronos is not, and such a method of identification is
really no more than to open a Gk. Dictionary, find some word
rather like the Gk. name, and then to assimilate them, regardless
of appropriateness in general detail. My suggested explanation
is in perfect harmony with the whole myth of Kronos, which
I am able to reconcile absolutely in spite of its apparently direct
contradictions. In fact another reviewer of Sevi., and one whose
remarks are mainly a string of abuse (may God forgive these
gentlemen as I do, as good Archbishop Tillotson said, in a some-
what similar case), yet felt himself constrained to observe,
' One of the best things in the book is the Kronos myth.'

^ *

4 ritlJJITITE CONSTELLATIOKS. [l

results of recent investigation into the character and
origin of the ancient Greek constellation-figures, with
lists of the names of the Signs of the Zodiac. The
result shows that the Greeks received the constel-
lation-names, and nearly all the stories connected
with them, not from any savages, but from the
highly civilized Phoenicians, who, in turn, like the
ancient Arabians, had obtained many of these names
from the archaic civilization of the Euphrates Valley.
A portion of the intercourse between Greek and
Phoenician is matter of histor}', unquestioned and
unquestionable; but a still larger portion although
also historic, is veiled by myth and legend, and seen
but dimly through the mists of ages ; and thus it is
absolutely necessary that, in these astronomical
investigations, we should also correctly approach
the weighty problem presented by what we call
mythology. And it will be found in the sequel that
the history, myths, and legends connected with the
earlier constellation-figures, bring every one of them
within the sphere of Semitic influence. Moreover,
we are not concerned with any abstract questions,
such as. Might not one race of men have thought
out constellation-figures just as well as another ?
We have to dealAvith the history of certain particular
forms, and are not to consider anything except the
actual facts of the case. And it is only by the
patient and scientific disentanglement of the twisted
skein of mythology, and by penetrating to its under-
meaning, that Ave can efl^ect the rediscovery of a
most interesting period in the latter portion of the
morning of the world.

A great part of Phoenician history and belief is
even now unknown to us, but enough has been

l] INTRODUCTORY. 5

revealed to enable us to reconstruct its general
character. Amongst special aids are the Homeric
and H^siodic poems, the Fragments of PherekydSs
Syros (Vide F. G. Sturz, Pherecydis Fragmenta^
1824), and of the Phoenician kosmogonies preserved
by Eusebios, the Itinerary of Pausanias, numerous
Inscriptions, the Classic works of Gesenius and
Movers, the monogi'aphs of Kenrick and Canon
Eawlinson, and the researches of Penan, De Vogii^,
Lenormant, Clermont-Ganneau, Perrot and Chipiez,
Berard, Gruppe, Cesnola, and others. The various
Cuneiform Inscriptions also are constantly shedding
fresh light, often in most unexpected places. For
Euphratean astronomy we have the invaluable
labours of Prof. Kayce, and the highly important
works of Oppert, Hommel {Die Astronomie cler alien
Chaldder, 1892, etc.), Jensen, Epping, Strassmaier,
and others ; but, at the same time, it is sad to think
that such a great mass of valuable material remains
unedited and practically inaccessible in the British
Museum, since no one except a trained Assyriologist,
and one, moreover, possessed of excellent eyesight,
can copy it (Vide Bezold, Catalogue of the Cuneiform
Tablets m the Kouyunjik Collection of the British
Museiun, 1889-96). The Cuneiform Inscriptions of
Western Asia, published by the Trustees of the
British Museum, will, however, supply the student
with many of the most important texts.

For Greek mythological astronomy may be
specially named the works of Eudoxos and Aratos
(Vide R. B. Jr., H. D.) ; the Star-list contained in
the 7th and 8th Books of the Almagest (Edited by
Francis Baily in Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical
Society, vol. xiii., 1843; vide m/. Chap. III.); various

6 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [l

mythological studies by K. 0. Mi'iller ; Tdeler,
Untersuchumjen iiher den Urvpruna unci die Bedeu-
tung der Siernnamen, 1809, a work which, strange to
say, has never yet been superseded ; Sir G. C. Lewis,
All Historical Surrey of the Astronomy of the Ancients,
1862, an admirable compendium of Classical learning,
but written by one who had no acquaintance with,
and apparently no belief in, the results of cuneiform
research, and whose conclusions on many points are
therefore utterly erroneous ; C. Robert, Eratosthenis
Catasterismorum Reliquiae, 1878, which also gives
the Scholiasts on Aratos and Germanicus, and the
corresponding statements in Hyginus ; and the
Le.riJions of Hesychios and Souidas. Mr. E. B.
Knobel's Chronology of Star Catalogues, 1877, re-
printed from the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical
Society, is a most complete and useful work ; and
in connexion with the subject of ancient astronomy
generalh', besides the great Classical writers, may be
special]}' named Achilleus Tatios, j\lanilius, ]Martianus
Capella, Censorinus, Cornutus, Avienus, Geminos,
Xonnos, Lydus, ]\Iaximus Tyrius, the Cliresmoi
Sihyllicdcoi (Edit. C. Alexandre, Paris, 1841); the
Rig-Veda, the Egyptian Booh of the Dead (Edit.
Sir P. le Page Renouf, 1893-7) ; Dupuis, Biot,
Letronne, Chwolsohn {Die Ssabier unci der Ssahismiis,
1856); Lajard (plates, the text is valueless), Menant,
Whitne}', C. W. King, the numerous Avorks on
astrology ancient and modern. Sir Norman Lockyer
{The Dairn tf Astronomy, 1S!)4, reviewed by me in
The Academy, March 31st, 1894); Albiruni, Chrono-
logy of Ancient Nations (Edit. C. E. Sachau, 1879);
Lacouperie ( Western Origin of Chinese Civilization,
1894); Maspero, F. C. Penrose {On the Results of an

ij INTEODUCTORY. 7

Examination of the Orientation.-^ of a Number of
Greeh Temples^ 1893) ; Prof. D'Arcy W. Thompson
(^-1 Glossary of Greek Biril.'<, 1895 ; (hi Bird and
Beast in Ancient Si/mhi)h'sm, 1895); M.Jean. Svoronos
(Sitr la signification des types vionctaires des anciens,
1894) ; be Clercq (Catalogue, 188S, Cylindres
Orientaux, etc.); Prof. Hilprecht (The Babylonian
Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, 1893-6);
and the -R-orks of Spiegel, Plang, De Harlez, Darme.s-
teter, E. W. West, L. H. Mills, and others on the
ancient sacred literature of Persia ; Prof. Franz
Cumont's elaborate Textes et 2Ionuments_ Figures
relatifs aux Mysthres de Jlitlira, 1891-6 ; Prof.
Roscher's invaluable Lexikon ; and Daremberg and
Saglio, Dictionnaire des Antiquites.

Eupjiratean boundary stones and cylinders, and
ancient coins are of great importance in the enquiry.
An immense mass of material is still wanting, and
must be supplied ere the subject can be treated
exhaustively; bat, it is the duty of each age to put
together the information at its disposal in orderly
sequence, so that posterity may be the better able to
continue investigation, and thus by widening the area
of useful human knowledge we do our best to extend
and intensify the range of beneficent human jjower.

Prof. ]\Iax Midler, in his Contributions to the
Science of Mythology, 1897, has lately given to the
Avorld his last pronouncement on the subject, its
rise, and its Hyponoia (=Under current of meaning) ;
and has shown himself unwilling to admit the
existence of any Semitic influence in Hellas, except
in a few trifling and unimportant instances.
Mr. Lang, in Modern Mythology, 1897, has once
more criticised Prof. Miiller's general position, and

8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [l

vainly attempted to refute it. Lastly, in the special
monograph {Sein.) above referred to, and occasioned
by these two works, I have endeavoured to vindicate
the position of the Aryo- Semitic school of mythologists
against the strictures and standpoint of Prof. Midler;
whilst at the same time I have shown the futility
of Mr. Lang's general attack upon the Natural
Phenomena Theory, and the failure of his attempt
to introduce the totemism of the North American
Indian into regions Hellenic. On the general question
of Semitic influence in Hellas, several critics have
contented themselves with the unsupported assertion
that the works of men like Prof. Duncker and
M. Victor Berard {De L' Origine des Ctdtes Areadiens,
1894) prove nothing to the purpose. The circum-
stance merely affords an interesting example of the
tremendous sway which ' old Captain Prejudice,'
as Bunyan calls him, can exercise even over educated
minds. Another habit of the hostile critic is to
take some suggested derivation, e.g., Iloo-t? "lTa)i'09 =
lioaeihSiv, to omit from consideration all the circum-
stances, historical and otherwise, of the myth, and
then ai'bitrarily to reject the suggestion as absurd,
or else as being a mere bare possibility. I am well
aware that really honest criticism in abstruse subjects
is very laborious. It includes the art of taking
pains, which is not fashionable at present. What,
asks a critic, shall we say to such a derivation as
Andromeda from Adamath ? ' Why, nothing,' I reply,
' if you know nothing about it.' Yet the derivation
can be thoroughly justified all the same (Tide inf.
p. 49). It is only by the careful examination
of the w^hole evidence available that we can arrive
at a reasonable conclusion on the merits of any

l] INTRODUCTORY. 9

particular case ; and to those who are willing to
weigh the matter fairly, 1 address the following
pages with complete confidence.^

1 An amusmg instance of reactionary scHoIarsliip has been
recently supplied by Georg Thiele, Antike Himmelsbilder, 1898.
Unconvinced by the works of Hommel and Jensen, lie holds
that the Zodiac was put together by Asiatic Greeks, Noticing
that the Astronomical Tablets quoted by Epping and Strassmaier
{Astronomisches aus Babylon) are subsequent to Alexander, he
argnes that the knowledge in them was probably derived from
Greek sources. This, in the abstract, is perfectly possible ; but
had Herr Thiele, who, it is almost needless to say, is not an
Assyriologist, extended his researches further into the cuneiform
records, and been acquainted with such documents, as e.g.,
Tablet No. 85-4-30, 15 (The Te Tablet), which belongs to the
reign of Darayavaush I., and is quite unaffected by Greek
influence, he would have been aware that the Zodiac was
familiar to the Babylonians centuries prior to Alexander. The
Te Tablet, as we have it, was doubtless, as Mr. Pinches agrees,
a copy of an earlier document; for no one in Babylon was
inventing zodiacs about B.C. 500. A single monument such as
this, is sufficient to destroy Herr Thiele's whole elaborate theory
in a naoment. He has read and rejects my view of the Boundary
Stones, as expressed in Z. ; but he does not seem to be acquainted
with H. D., which I venture to commend to his attention. He
can then attempt to grapple with the astronomical argument
for the Babylonian origin of the Zodiac and various other con-
stellations. Of course the Babylonian case does not rest upon
any single document, but upon an immense mass of evidence,
positive and negative, much of which is treated of in this
volume ; and also upon numerous Tablets, the more important
of which I shall hope to deal with in the second volume of this
work. The subsequent portion of Herr Thiele's book, relating
to the constellations in classical times, is a learned and valuable
performance.

Anyone who may be struck by the parallel between Abraham
and Orion, or between Abraham and Lot and Castor and Pollux,
and is thereby reminded of Osiris, Xisouthros, Wayland Smith
and anybody else, will doubtless read with interest Eduard
Stvicken, Astralmy then derSebraeer,Babylonier undAegijpter, 1897.
For my own part, I will merely observe with Bishop Hall,
' This field is so wide that a man may soon lose himself in it.'

CHAPTER IL

The Primitive Constellations of the Greeks.

By the primitive constellations of the Greeks I mean
those which appeared on the nranographic globe of
the astronomer Eudoxos of Knidos, cir. B.C. 403-35U,
and were mentioned in his work the Phainomena,
a treatise afterwards versified, cir. B.C. 270, by the
poet Aratos, who lived at the court of Antigonos
Gonatas, king of Makedonia. They thus reappear
in the I'halnomena of Aratos, and consist of the
following figures : —

I. NoRTHERX Constellations. The Lesser Bear,
the Greater Bear, the Bearicarel or Floui/hmaii, the
Serpent, Kepheus, Kassicpeia, Andromeda, Perseus.
the Delta-sheiped (figure), the Horse, the Dolphin,
the Charioteer, the Kneeler, the Lyre, the Bird, the
Eagle, the Arrow, the Crown, and the Snake-
holder (19).

II. Central or Zodiacal Constellations. The
Bern, the Bull, the Twins, the Crab, the Lion, the
Viri/in, the Claws, the Scorpion, the Archer, the
Goat, the Water-pourer, the Fishes, and the
Clusterers (13).

III. Southern Constellations. Orldn, the Dog,
the Hare, Argd, the Sea-Monster, the Stream, the
Fish, the Altar, the Centaur, the Water-snake, the
7io«7, and the Crow (12).

ll] THE GREliKS. II

In this arrangement the Snalce is included in the
Snahe -holder, and the Wild-heast in the Centaur.
The Clii^tcrcrs (Pleiades) are distinct from the JhdI.
The poet notices, hut does not name, the Southern
Crown ; and also refers by name to five particular
stars — viz., Bear-icateher (Arktouros), Ecir-of-corn
(Stetchys), Fruit - plucki'n// -liercdd {Protrygeter'),
Scorcher (Se trios) and Dog's-preciirsor {Prohyon).

Sir G-. C. Lewis observes that K. 0. ]\Iiiller
[I'roleg. zu einer WissenschaftJiehen MytJiologie, Erig-
edit, by Jno. Leitch, 1844), 'has shown that the
astronomical mythi of the Greeks formed an unim-
portant part of their mythology, and were for the
most part imconnected with their religion' {Astron.
of the Ancients, p. 63). This is perfectly true Avheu
applied to the purely Hellenic portion of Greek
mythology and religion, and with such a limitation
we may quite agree Avith the further remarks that
' the religion and mythology of the early Greeks
had scarcely any reference to astronomy, or to an
adoration of the heavenly bodies ' {Ibid. p. Gi) ;
and that ' As the religion and mythology, so the
divination of the early Greeks had little connexion
with the heavenly bodies' (Ibid. p. 70). From
these admitted premisses one of two things follows :
Either very little notice was taken of ' astronomical
mythi ' and constellation-figures in early Hellas ;
or, if, on the contrary, very considerable notice was
taken of these things, then the influence which
turned thought in this direction was non-Hellenic.
As the views of Lewis are merely those of Miiller
I need not further refer to the former in this
connexion, except to mention his obviously Aveak,
and really baseless, remark that ' the constellations

12 PKIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [n

of the heavenly sphere seem [Italics mine.] to have
been gradually formed by the Greeks ' (Ibid. p. 68).
]\Iiiller's views 'on Astronomical Mythi,' which
form the Appendix to Chapter IX. of his above-
mentioned work I shall notice subsequently (Vide
ivf. p. 127).

The Hipparcho-Ptolemy Star-list (Vide /«/'
Chap. III.), which covers the ground from B.C. 150
to A.D. 150, exactly agrees with the enumeration
of Aratos, except that the Snahe and the Wild-
beast are made separate constellations ; ProkyCm is
raised to the rank of a constellation and has two
stars assigned to it ; the Southern ( 'rown is named
as a constellation, the Pleiads are included in the
BuU^i and an altogether fresh constellation, the
Foremost-lwrse (Lat. JEqiiuIeus, the Colt), ajDpears.
This figure was formed by Hipparchos (Vide
Geminos, Eisaguge, ii.) by way of suggestion from
an existing constellation, in accordance with a
principle of which we shall find almost endless
mythologic and practical examples, and which
I term the Law of Reduplication. The Catalogue
of Hipparchos, ' who had ventured to count the
stars, a work arduous even for the Deity ' (Pliny,
Uist. Xat. ii. 26), consisted, we are told, of 1080
stars. The Catalogue of Ptolemy consists of 1022
stars, of which 914 form constellation-figui-es, and
108 are unformed {afiopjiaiToi,). During the period
of Classical antiquity subsequent to Aratos, in
addition to the case of the Colt, two successful
attempts were made to increase the number of the
constellation-figures. The Tress (Ploliamos) of
Berenike, queen of Ptolemaios Euergetes, was by
the united efforts of Konon, the astronomer of

Il] THE GREEKS. 1 3

Samos, and Kallimachos the Alexandrian gram-
marian-poet, raised to the skies, cir. B.C. 243 (Vide
Kallimachos, ap. Catullus, Ixvii. ; Theon, in Arat.
Phainom. 14G; Strabo, I. i. 8 ; Hyginus, Poet. Astron.
in voc. Leo; Pliny, Hist. Nat. ii. 71; vide inf.
p. 61) ; and Antiiioos, the beautiful favourite of the
emperor Hadrian, received a similar honour, cir.
A.D. 122. Xow it is very instructive to observe
how Ptolemy treats these two additions to the
ancient list, "which, to use Strabo's expression
respecting the Tress, were ' but of yesterday.' To
ignore them altogether would not have been easy,
especially since the cult of Antinoos (Vide Paus.
VIII. ix. 4) was then so prominent a feature. He
therefore mentions both ; but, declining to enrol
them formally among the ancient constellations,
places them amongst the unformed stars. The
significance of this fact is very great ; it goes far
to show that the notion that many of the constel-
lations of Aratoswere devised by Greek grammarians,
and poets at a comparatively late period is quite
unfounded. And we can now see that this theory
arose in part from a false view of late Semitic
influence in the matter ; in part from an inability to
otherwise account for the origin of the constellation-
figures ; and in part from a singular neglect and
misunderstanding of the evidence available. It is-
no reproach to Miiller and Lewis that they were
unacquainted with the results of Assyriology ; but
they might certainly have approached the question
of constellation-origin with more care and less
prejudice. Lewis, in particular, was evidently
hardening his heart against the coming discoveries,
in precisely the same spirit as that in which Lord

14 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ll

Sherbroke, another excellent Classical scholar, by
the aid of a Latin quotation, proved to his own
complete satisfaction that even the ruins of Troy
had perished. If anyone in the fourth century b.c.
had added Perseus or Andromeda to the constel-
lation-figures, the memory of such a feat would
certainly have been carefully preserved. Aratos
himself always speaks of the constellations as of
unknown antiquity : —

' Some man of yore
A nomenclature thought of and devised,
And forms sufficient found ' — {H. D., 373-5).

The stars are so numerous and so much alike, that
some such classification was absolutely necessary to
enable men to speak of them with any exactness.

' So thought he good to make the stellar groups,
That each by other lying orderly,
They might display their forms. And thus the stars
At once took names and rise familiarnow' — (Ibid. 379-8:2) .

It is singular how these positive statements of
Aratos, who had every means of knoAving the facts of
the case, have been disregarded. How could he
possibl)^ have spoken thus if some Konon, fifty or
a hundred years before his time, had added this or
that constellation-figure ? Such language would in
this case have been simply impossible. But there
is also another line of consideration which shows
the great antiquit}' of the mass of material embodied
in the Phainomemi. As Proctor has Avell remarked,
' Grotius erred in asserting that the phenomena of
Aratus can be assigned to no fixed epoch and to no
fixed place. "With the exception of a few which
Aratus inserted from his own unskilful observations,
all the phenomena will be found, when due correction

IlJ THE CxItKEKS. I5

has been made for the efifects of precession, to
correspond very satisfactorily with a latitude between
38° and 41° and an epoch about four thousand years
ago.' And this circumstance affords a most positive
proof not merely of the high antiquity of com-
paratively developed astronomical observation ; but
also of the significant fact that the ancient constella-
tional arrangement of the lieavens is not Hellenic in
origin. That Aratos was personally innocent of any
scientific astronomical knowledge, all the world has
always agreed wdth Cicero. But such a mass of
astronomical statement as is contained in the
Phainomena vrhen recorded by the unlearned, can
only represent a crystallized tradition ; and this
deduction of refined common sense is, if possible,
rendered more certain when the statements are
mainly incorrect if applied to the time when they are
committed to writing, but may have been true at
some time and in some locality. In a special mono-
graph {C.l'J. A.), I have shown that the statements
of Aratos in reference to the principal stars near the
equator, exactly agree with the actual state of things
at the vernal equinox B.C. 2084, a date when the
Euphratean formal scheme or chart of the heavens
had been already completed. Ere passing on, I may
observe that Aratos supplies us with an excellent
illustration of the worthlessness of the argument from
silence, which is naturally a great stronghold of
Miiller and his followers. Thus, there is no mention
in the Phainomena of any particular stars in the Grab;
but in the poet's companion worl^, the D/.osenieia,
160-76, there is a somewhat elaborate account of the
Manger (Pliatne) and the Asses {Onoi^Asellus
Boreus and Asellus Australis), as connected with

1 6 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ll

rainy weather. These names also occur in Ptolemy's
List, and had the Dlosemeia been lost, the adherents
of the argument from silence might, acting on their
usual lines, have triumphantly asserted that the
Manger and Asses were unknown to Aratos.

In the interval between Augustus and Queen
EUzabeth occasional efforts were made to add to the
canon of constellations ; but, except in the case of
Ajifiaoos, without much success. Thus, Pliny speaks
of ' Item quem sub Divo Augusto cognominavere
Caesaris Thronon' {Hist. Nat. ii. 71) ; and, again,
he refers to the ' viistitas caeli immensa, discreta
altitudine in duo atque septuaginta signa ' {Ihid. 41).
Minsheu defines an ' asterisme ' as a ' configui-ation
of fixed starres, an imaginarie forme devised by the
astrologers, the better to conceive and distinguish
asunder the fixed starres, of which are reckoned
eighty-four in all, besides a few found out of late by
the discoverers of the South Pole ' {IHdionary,
1625, in voc. Asterisme). The latter constellations
are those formed by Bayer, cir. 1603, viz., the Bird-
of-Paradlse (Ajms), the Chameleon, the Sword-fish
{Dorado), the Crane (Grus), the Water-snake
{Hydrus, an instance of reduplication), the Indian,
the Fly (Musca), the Peacock (Pavo), the Phoenix,
the Toucan, the Flying-fish {Piscis Volans) and the
Southern Triangle {Triangulum, another instance of
reduplication). Amongst the Signs referred to hj
Pliny and Minsheu were probably included various
well-known parts of several of the ordinary constella-
tions, e.g., the Goat and Ivids, the Sickle (in Leo), the
Sword (of Orion), etc., and perhaps also some
individual stars. For the term sign, like its
Babylonian equivalent kakJcabu, Heb. kuIchcWh, is at

Il] THE GREKKS. 1 7

one time applied to a single star, and at another
to a constellation. In this work I use the word
'asterism' in its modern sense, viz., a small cluster
of stars forming part of a constellation. A unique
German ]\IS. in my possession belonging to the latter
part of the XVth centur}^, contains several constella-
tion-figures which I have never met with elsewhere
(A'ide R.B. Ji;,On a German Astronomico-Astrological
Manuscript, and on the Origin of the Signs of
the Zodiac. In Archaeologia, Vol. XLVII.
Part. ii. On the subject of constellations generally,
vide E. B. Jr., U.). In 1690 the Giraffe (Cameleo-
pardalis)., the Ilunting-dogs [Canes Venati'ci), the
Lizard (Lacerta), the Lesser Lion (Leo Minor, an
instance of reduplication), the Lynx, the Unicorn
{Monoceros), the Sextant (Sextans), the Fox and
Goose {Vidpecula et Anser), and the Shield {Glypeus)
of Sobieski were added by Hevelius. Other constella-
tion-figures, many of which are not recognized in the
Catalogue of the British Association, have been added
subsequentl}'. They may be found in Bode,
Uranograjihia, Berlin, 1801, but as the}'' nearly all
represent merely an arbitrary and tasteless fancy, so
far as the present work is concerned, ' fugiunt sine
nomine turba.'

In a special monograph (E. S. It. Part V.) I have
shown that the original Sumero-Akkadian Lunar
Zodiac, adopted by the Semitic Babylonians, was the
parent and original of all the Lunar Zodiacs of the
Old World. Of these we possess at least seven com-
plete specimens — the Persian, Sogdian, Khorasmian,
Chinese, Indian, Arab, and Coptic schemes.

The constellations of the Greeks were ultimately
accepted and adopted by the Persians, Indians (Vide

1 8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ll

Weber, Hist, of Indian Literature. 1878), and Arabs,
and by the nations of Western Asia generally ; and
also by the Eomans, from whom they have been
borrowed bv the modern Avorld. This diffusion
being subsequent to the era of Alexander, docs not
fall within the scope of the present investigation.

The Arabs from a remote antiquity had possessed
a scheme of lunar mansions (Vide Quran, x. 5 ;
xxxvi. 39), and had mapped out the heavens into
stellar groups. This system was in part original,
and in part derived from the civilization of the
Euphrates Valley. Prof. Hommel has attempted to
give a few illustrations of this latter connexion, but
the subject is still in its infancy. The researches
of Glaser {Skizze der (jreschichte Arahiens von den
(dtesten Zeiten his cum Propheten Jfuhammad^ 1889 ;
Die Ahessinier in Arahien und Africa, 1895) and
Hommel indicate the great importance of Arabia as
a factor in early civilization, both in connexion with
writing and religion. I may also note in passing
that Prof. Hommel {Die Identitiit der AJtesten JSabi/-
tonischeii und Aegnptischen tjiitteryenecdogie und der
Bahijlonisehe Ursprung der Aegijptisrhen Jvultur,
1 892 ; etc.) has brought forward a mass of evidence,
tending to show that, in origin, the wisdom of the
Xile comes from that of the Euphrates.

China, again, has possessed from a remote period
a large number of independent constellation-figures
(Vide the Uranographic 3Iaps of the Chinese
heavens in Williams, Observations of Comets, from
B.C. 611 to A.]). 1640, extrarted from the Chinese
Annals, 1871) ; but, at the same time, as my
lamented friend Terrien de Lacoiiperie ( Western
Origin of the J^Jarlg Chinese Civilization, 189-1) has

Il] THE GREEKS. 1 9

shown, in a large number of instances Euphratean
civilization has left its impress upon Chinese Astro-
nomy. The U)Xi no graphic Cltinn/'se, 1875, of Schlegel
is already obsolete (On this subject, vide Edldns,
When did Bahijh>niwi Astrology enter China? 1887).

Although Egypt may have obtained her god-
system or a very important portion of it from the
Euphrates Galley, she was not indebted to any
foreign region for her original scheme of constel-
lations, which are entirely or almost entirely distinct
from those of Babylonia, Phoenicia, Kanaan and
(Ireece ("Mde Sir P. le Page Renouf, Calendar of
Astronomical Observations found in Royal Tombs of
the XXtli Dynasty^ 1874; The Egyptian Boo/c of t/<e
Dead, Parts I.-VL, 1893-7 ; Maspero, The Daivn
of Civdization, 1894, pp. 89-97).

Such, tlien, with the systems of Phoenicia, Pales-
tine, Syria, and the Euphrates Valley, Avere the
principal schemes of constellation-figures known to
antiquity. And having thus defined the primitive
constellations of the Greeks, and, by glancing at the
astronomical history of some other countries with
Avhich we are not here specially concerned, perhaps
made the course of the enquiry somewhat clearer to
the reader, and removed certain possible misappre-
hensions, I will next draw special attention to the
constellations in question, as they appear in that
most valuable record the Hipparcho - Ptolemy
Star-list.

9 *

CHAPTER III.

The Hipparcho-Ptolemy Star-list.

The stellar Catalogue of Ptolemy contained in his
Almagest (Vide inf. p. 25), occupies a unique
position in the histoiy of sidereal observation. It at
once sums up and epitomizes the results of the early
star-gazers of Hellas and of Western Asia ; whilst it
supplies the foundation for the efforts of mediaeval
astromomers, Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian.
Alphonso of Castile in the West, the g'reat school of
Arabian astronomers, and the enlightened Tatar
Ulugh Beigh in the East, alike base their researches
upon this Star-list ; whilst, in astronomical matters
generally, Ptolem}-, as it has been well expressed,
continues to be ' the only source of reference for
a period of fourteen centuries. The Star-list of
Ptolemy is practically that of Hipparchos. ' It is
supposed,' says Francis Baily, in his admirable
edition, ' to be the Catalogue of Hipparchus reduced
by Ptolemy to his own time, by increasing the longi-
tudes 2° 40', and leaving the latitudes undisturbed.'
' It seems not unlikely,' observes De Morgan, ' that
in the main this catalogue is really that of Hippar-
chus. . . . This catalogue is pretty well shown
by Delambre (who is mostly successful when he
attacks Ptolemy as an observer) to represent the
heaven of Hipparchus, altei-ed by a wrong precession.

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 21

better than the heaven of the time at -which the
catalogue was made. And it is observed [by Delambre]
that though Ptolemy observed at Alexandria, where
certain stars are visible which are not visible at
Rhodes (where Hipparchus observed) none of those
stars are in Ptolemy's Catalogue ' {Diet. Glc. and
Rom. Blog. and Alytliol. 1867, iii. 576). De Morgan
sums up Ptolemy as ' a splendid mathematician and
an indifferent observer.' The single fact that the List
does not include stars visible at Alexandria but not
at Ehodos, is alone almost sufficient to prove that
Ptolemy was the editor of the compilation of
Hipparchos. The new edition, as of course, embodied
certain differences. Thus, as we are told on the
somewhat doubtful authority of a work entitled Eratos-
thenous en Alio Hipparcliou eis ta Aratou Phainomeyia,
cap. vi. (Vide Petavius, Uranologion, 1630, p. 262),
Hipparchos asserted that the stars were 1080 (cnr') in
number, whereas Ptolemy's List contains only 1022.
Baily explains how the latter number is arrived at :
'There are three duplicates (Xos. 117, 400, and
1011) which make up the number 1028 in the cata-
logue.' Ptolemy reckons only 1022 ; for, besides
those three duplicates, he likewise omits TrXo/ca/^o?
(Nos. 494, 495, and 496) in all his enumerations.' This
circumstance, again, betokens an editor, not one who
wished to bring the whole subject quite up to date.
Pliny, having spoken of ' the 72 Signs' (Vide siijy.
p. 16), continues, ' In his quidem mille sexcentas
annotavere stellas ' {Hist. Xat. ii. 41). If 1600 stars
had been separately observed by the time of Pliny, it is
clear thatfarmore than 1022 were known to astronomers
in the time of Ptolemy. Here again, therefore, we see
that his List has no pretentions to be an exhaustive

22 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

Cataloi?ne of the stars. In the absence of more
positive evidence respecting the real numl^er of stars
in the original List of Hipparchos, it is not worth while
to enter on any specnlations as to the reason of the
difference between the numbers 10<S0 and 1022.

The foregoing reasons for assuming the practical
identity of the Lists of Hipparchos and Ptolemy have
been purely astronomical ; but there are also a
number of archaeolo2:ical and literary considerations
which point to the same conclusion. Many of these,
which are based on matters of detail, will appear in
tlie examination of the List. But, looking at the
subject generally, let us remember for a moment that
Hipparchos had before him the constellation -figures
of Aratos, and that he made a Star-list longer than
that of Ptolemy. The latter, therefore, must either
have 231'actically adopted the List of his predecessor,
or else have entirely altered the constellation-figures.
There would be no tliird place for him in which to
put his stars. Now there is not onl}' no evidence
to show that Ptolemy did entirely alter the
constellation-figures, but an infinite number of
reasons, archaeological and otherwise, apparent to the
careful investigator, which make it clear that he did
not. There would, as of course, be cei'tain minor
differences between the two Lists; nothing remains
exactly the same for centuries. The A. A\ of the
Bible to-day is not precisely that which left the press
in 1611. One of these minor differences Ptolemy
has recorded. The star a Arietis is, in some respects,
one of the most important in the heavens. In
Ptolemy's List it is an unformed star, and is described
as ' The one above the head [of the Ram] , Avhich
Hipparchos (places) at the muzzle.' From this we

Ill] THE HIPPAKCIIO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 23

learn (1) that this star was not one of the unformed
in the List of Hippavchos ; and C2) that Hipparchos, as
we might otherwise have been certain was the case,
described the stars in connexion with the constella-
tion-figures. Further, as there is no other similar
I'eference to Hipparchos in the List of Ptolemy, the
very strong inference is that the other stars, or most
of them, occupied similar positions in both Lists. To
take another instance : Hipparchos, as noticed (Suj).
p. 12), for some reason or other, added that rather
absurd constellation the Colt. This is faithfully
reproduced in the List of Ptolemy, as a legitimate
Sign, and not one to be put in the same category
with Antinoiis and the Tress. Lastly, Ptolemy had
the work of Hipparchos, both his MS. and his globe,
before him ; for, as Montucla observes, ' Ptolemy,
desiring to prove that the relative position of the
stars had not changed since Hipparchus, requests
that they may be compared with the positions on the
solid globe of that astronomer ' (Hist, des MatMma-
tiques, i. 264). In the same way the Catalogue of
IJlugh Beigh, containing 1019 stars, and completed
in July, 1437, is practically identical with the List
of Ptolemy. There are some slight differences
between the two; but the process was that Ulugh
Beio'b, havino^ Ptolemv's List before him, observed
all or nearly all of the stars contained in it, and ascer-
tained their latitudes and longitudes. Ptolemy him-
self had dealt similarly with the List of Hipparchos.
According to Pliny (Hist. Xat. ii. 24), it was the
observation by Hipparchos, ' nunquam satis laudatus,'
of a new star (' novam stellam et aliam in aevo
suo genitam deprehendit ') which induced him
to make as complete a catalogue as possible of the

24 PimilTIVB CONSTELLATIOKS. [HI

stellar host, in order tliat subsequent changes,
whether of addition or subtraction, might be dul)'
noted. The List has been roughly translated by
Delambre, and has naturally received much atten-
tion, but always, so far as I am aware, in a purely
astronomical connexion. The present work is only
incidentally of an astronomical character ; and there-
fore we are not coiicerned with the merely astrono-
mical errors either of Ptolemy or of his successors,
or with the discordant readings of MSS. or the
blunders of copyists, nearly all of which naturally occur
in the notation, and do not effect the standpoint of
these researches. Baily collated the principal MSS.
with great care. He points out that ' all Ptolemy's
descriptions refer to the pole of the ecliptic ' ; and
that Flamsteed has confused the position of various
stars ' by referring them to the pole of the equator.'
It is necessary to obtain a fairly exact knowledge of
this chief of Star-lists, as, on the one hand, it sums up
for us the amount and results of Hellenic investio-a-
tion ; and, on the other, it enables us to approach
the consideration of the late Babylonian astronomy
in the most suitable and natural way. The letter at
the end of the description of each star is that by
which it has been usually designated since the
publication of Bayer's Uranometria omnium Asteris-
morum, 1603. In some cases, however, certain
alterations have been made by ' the B. A. Catalogue'
(Vide Proctor, Star Atla.^, 4th edition, 1877, p. 4).
The figure in brackets indicates the Ptolemaic
magnitude of the star. Ptolemy entitles his List
the "E/c^ecrt? KavoviKT), which implies that it was no
novelty, but the Authorized Version of the constel-
lations and their stars. The List reads as follows: —

Ill] THE HirPARCIIO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 25

' The Autlwrized Exposition of the Star-list in relation to tlie
Northern Hemisphere.

I. — The Constellation of thr Little Bear.

1. The one at the end of the tail— a (3).

2. The one after this on the tail — 8 (4).

3. The one after this before the outgrowth of the tail — e (4).

4. The sontherly-one of the foremost side of the Oblong — t, (4).

5. The northerly-one of the same side — rj (4).

t). The southerly-one of those in the hindmost side — yS (2).
7. The northerly-one of the same side — y (2).

Seven stars in all, -whereof two (are) of the 2nd magnitude,
one of the 3rd, four of the 4th.

The Tlnformed-star near her.
1. The one in a straight line with those in the hindmost side (of
the Oblong) and the most- southerly ' (of them). Star
a of the 4th magnitude.

Note.
No. 4. ' The Obloii":.' TiXLvdlov = WKaiaiov, ' an
oblong figure.' Eendered quadranguli (Uliigh Beigh,

Cat. a]), HydC;, inVOC.^. 'At ruv irXivOluiv 'vircypa^ai

('the Outlines of theOblongs')=the Tempi a or Regiones
Coeli (Plout. Camill. xxxii. ; cf. livmid. xxii.) into
which the Augurs and their Etruscan masters
divided the heavens. The use of this term here is
a remarkable indication of the astrological significance
attached to the subject. Ptolemy, it must be
remembered, was an accomplished astrologer.

II. — ' The Constellation of the Great Hear.

1. The one at the end of the muzzle — " (4).

2. The foremost of those in the two eyes — 2 (5).

3. The hindmost of them — -k (5).

4. The foremost of the two in the forehead — p (5).

5. The hindmost of them — a^ and cr^ (5).

ti. The one at the end of the foremost ear — 24 (5).

7. The foremost of the two in the uect — t (4).

8. The hindmost of them— 23 (4).

9. The more-northerly of the two in the chest — v (4).

26 DUMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [''I

10. The more-southerly of them — <f> (4).

11. The one at the left knee— 61 (3).

12. The northerly-one of those in the left forefoot at the end

of the foot — I (3).

13. The more-southerly of them — k ('•]).

14. The one above the right knee — 18 (4).

15. The one beloAV the right knee — 15 (4).

16. The one at the back, (one) of those in the quadrilateral— a (2 ) .

17. The one of them at the flank — /3 (2).

18. The one at the outgrowth of the tail — 8 (3).

IV. The remaining-one (in the quadrilateral) and (the one") at
the hinder-part of the left thigh — y (2).

20. The foremost of those in the left hind leg at the end of the

foot— \ (3).

21. The one following this — fi (3).

22. The one at the bend of the left leg—if- (4).

23. The most-northerly of those in the right hind leg at the end

of the foot — 1' (3).

24. The more-southerly of them — i (3).

25. The first of the three in the tail after the outgrowth — e (2).

26. The middle-one of them — ^ (2).

27. The third and (the one) at the end of the tail — rj (2).
Twenty- seven stars in all, whereof six (are) of the 2nd

magnitude, eight of the 3rd, eight of the 4th, five of the oth.

Tlie Unformed-stars helow her.

1. The one below the tail afar towards the south — 12 Can. V. (3).

2. The one iu front of this (and) dimmer — 8 Can. V. (5).

3. The inore-southerly of those between the fore-feet of the

Bear and the head of the Lion — a Lyncis (4).

4. The one more-northerly than this — 38 Lyncis (4).

.J. The hindmost of the three remaining and dim ones —
10 Leo. Mill. (dim).

6. The one preceding this — ? Lyncis (diin).

7. The one besides preceding this — i' Lyncis (dim).

8. The one between the fore-feet (of the Bear) and the Tueins

— 3L Lynns (dim).
Eight unformed stars in alljWhei'eof one (is) of the 3rd magni-
tude, two of the 4th, one of the 5th, four dim.'

Note.

No. 11. 'The left knee.' The description of this
star, like tliat of many others in the List, shows that

in] THE hippaeciio-ptole:\iy star-list. 27

the Catalogue was made from a globe. Looking at
the Bear-stars from the earth, and imagining this
figure of a Bear, the star G would appear to be at
the ri(iht knee ; and of course it is so shown on
a star-map. In the case of a globe the stellar
positions are revei'sed. Thus tlie descriptions in the
Catalogue being from a irlobe, we obtain coniirma-
tory evidence that tliey are in substance, and almost
certainly actually, the List of Hipparchos, and made
by him from his globe (Vide sup. p. 23), v.'hich
would probably remain in the library at Alexandria
until tlie destruction of the latter by Amri'i, pursuant
to the orders of the Calipb 'Omar. The globe of
Hipparchos would be an improvement on the globe of
Eudoxos (A'ide inf. p. 121); but the scheme of
constellations, and their general treatment, except for
the slight differences which have been mentioned,
Avoiild be identical. Thus, on the globe of Eudoxos
the Bear occupied the same space which she does
according to Ptolemy's List; for Aratos says : —

' The Twins are 'neatla her liead, ia midst the Grah ;
And 'neath the hinder legs the Lion shines" — (H. D. 147-8).

The growth of the Bear from her original seven
stars was obviously prompted by a desire to make her
body of a size coi-responding to her tail. The stars
adapted themselves very fairly for the purpose, and
there was no other constellation in the waj'. Even
the enlarged Bear was half surrounded by a vacant
space, now occupied by Leo Minor, Lynx, and
Camelojxirdah's. As will be noticed (/»/. p. 121) the
solid model globe had descended, as an institution,
to Eudoxos from the Phoenician-sprung Thales.

III. — ' The Constellation of the Serpent.
1. The one at the tongue — /i (4).

28 rEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ni

2. The one in the mouth — v (4) .

3. The one above the eye — /3 (8).

4. The one at the under- jaw — $ (4).

5. The one above the head — y (o).

6. The northern-one of the three in a straight line in the first

bend of the neck — 39 (4).

7. The sonthern-one of them — 46 (4).

8. The middle-one of them— 45 (4).

9. The one following these from the east — o (4).

10. The southern-one of the foremost side of the quadrilatei-al

in the next bend — ir (4).

11. The naore-northerlj-one of the foremost side — 8 (4).

12. The northern-one of the hindmost side — c (4).
18. The southern-one of the hindmost side — p (4).

14. The southern-one of the triangle next-in-order in the bend

-cr(5).
1.5. The foremost of the two remaining ones of the triangle — v(b).

16. The hindmost of them — t (5).

17. The hindmost of the three in the next and foremost triangle

-v/.(4).

18. The southern-one of the two remaining ones of the triangle

-X (4).

19. The more-northerly-one of the two remaining ones — 4> (4).

20. The hindmost of the two towards the west of the triangle —

27 (6).

21. The foremost of them — w (6).

22. The more-southerly-one of the three next in a straight line

-18 (5).

28. The middle-one of the three — h (5).

24. The more-northerly-one of them — t, (3).

2.3. The more-northerly-one of the two next towards the west

-V (3).

26. The more-southerly-one of them — 6 (4).

27. The one of those towards the west in the bend beside-the-

tail — I (3).

25. The foremost of the two situate a considerable distance

from this— 10 (4).

29. The hindmost of them^a (3).

30. The one following these towards the tail — « (3).

31. The remaining-one and (that) at the end of the tail — X (3).

Thirty-one stars in all, whereof eight (are) of the 3i-d mag-
nitude, sixteen of the 4th, live of the 5th, two of the 6th.'

IIlJ THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 29

Xofe.

The constellation Drakuii is Phoenician(=Kanaan-
ite) in origin, and represents primarily the Nalhasch
qadmfin (' Old Serpent') or the nocturnal and chaotic
heavens personified in monstrous form, drakontic or
serpentine. This name Pherekyd^s Syros translated
by ryepoyv 'O^lwv, and in his kosmogony related
how Ophion, otherwise Ophioneus, and Eurynome
ruled at first over the world until they were over-
thrown by II (Kronos) and Amma (Rhea). This
serpentine creature is also necessarily the guardian
of the stars (= golden apples) which hang from the
Pole-tree in the Garden of Darkness; and his consort
is Erehhno' emd (' Befuitiful-night ') = Eurynom^.
But, as the darkness of night is necessarily connected
with the depai'tiire of the sun, the Bab. -As. eribu =
' sunset' (i.e., darkness), the verb erlhu meaning 'to
set' or 'descend' — as the sun. Hence the Heb.
erehh, 'evening'; the Greek "Epe/So?, meaning primarily
the gloom after sunset, and secondarily the gloom of
the Under-world ; Europe, ?'.e., the west or sunset
side of the world ; Arab, the dweller v:est of the
Euphrates Yalley. Thus the cave of Skyllc is said
to front 'towards the west, to Erebos' {Od. xii. 81).
The Garden of Darkness becomes, therefore, a garden
in the West=the Garden of the Hesperides, at which
Herakles, as the Sun-god, necessarily arrives, and
where he obtains the golden apples, ' idealized quinces'
(Hehn, Wanderings of Plants and Animals, p 185.),
the ' Kydonian [Kretan] apple.' In this western
garden Ophion, no longer regarded as a monster-
god, but simply as a monster, is called Laddn (^=
Sem. Letooh or Letad, 'lizard,' crawling monster ;

30 PrjMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

cf. FA Zrt//ar/'o = ' alligator ') ; and, as of course, is
overcome bv the Sim-ijocl (Vide A'ato.s-. iii. : Schol.
Arat. V. 45 ; Schol. German, in loc. ; Hyginns
He S'lgnar. ii. 3). The stars in this portion of the
heavens naturally adapt themselves to the form of a
serpent, especially when arranged at a period when
the two groups of ]F«/»-stars Avere already recog-
nized. The constellation is alluded to in Jnh^ xxvi.
13, as ' the crooked Serpent (Nakhascli); and, in the
sphere, the foot of Herakles ' is planted on the twist-
ing Serpent'' li head ' (//. D. 70) in token of his victory.

IV. — 'The Constellation of Kepheus.

1. The one at tlie right foot — k (4).

'_'. The one at the left foot— y (4).

;^. The one at the girdle at the right side — y8 (4).

4. The one attached above the right shoulder — a (.3).

.'i. The one attached above the bend of the right arm — r} (4).

6. The one under the same bend and itself attached — 6 (4).

7. The one in the breast — ^ (5).

5. The one at the left arm — t(4).

9. The southern-one of the three at the Tiara — £ (5).

10. The middle-one of the three— ^ (4).

11. The morc-northerly-one of the three — X (5).

Eleven stars iu all, whereof one (is) of the 3rd magnitude,
seven of the 4th, three of the 5th.

The Unformed-stars around him.

1. The one in front of the Tiara — yu, (5).

2, The one behind the Tiara — ? (4) .

Two unformed stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 4th
magnitude, one of the 5th.'

Xote.

This constellation is Phoenician in origin. Keph,
the divine Stone, the Baitylos (= Sem. Beth-el)
of Siinchouniathon, brother of Atlas (Atel, ' Dark-
ness'), is also known as Baal Katsiu, or Qassiu
(' Lord-of-the-Promontory ') and Baal Tsephon

Ill] TDE HIPPARCIIO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 3 1

(' Lord-of-the-Nortli,' or ' of-the- North-wind ') ==
'rv4>(bv, Tucj}d(ov (Vide R. B. Jr., 0. K C. p. 15).
Reduplicated in a constellation of the extreme north,
the foreign divinity appropriately wears a foreign
head-dress, the Tidpa (' turban ') ; and this circum-
stance is a good illustration of the valuable indications
of origin which the List preserves. Xo Greek
supposed that Kepheus Avas of the Hellenic stock,
either of men or of gods.

y. — ' The Constellation of the Flougliman (Vide inf. p. 279).

1. The foremost o£ the three in the left hand — i: (5).

2. The middle and more-soiitherly-one of the three — i (5).

8. The hindmost of the three — (;')).

4. The one at the bend of the left arm — A. (5).
■). The one at the left shoulder — 7(3)-

6. The one at the head — (3 (4).

7. The one at the right shoulder — 8 (4).

5. The more-northerly of those upon the shepherd's crook^|u,(4).

9. The one more-northerly than this at the end of the shep-

herd's crook — v^ V- (4).

10. The more-northerly of the two below the shoulder in the

club — t) Coronae (4).

11. The more-southerly of them — x (5)-

12. The one at the end of the right hand — 45 (5).

13. The foremost of the two in the wrist — ip (5).

14. The hindmost of them— 46 (5)..

15. The one at the end of the handle of the shepherd's crook —

w (5).

16. The one in the girdle at the right thigh — e (3).

17. The hindmost of the two in the belt — cr (4).

18. The foremost of them — p (4).

19. The one at the right heel— f (3).

20. The more-northerly of the three in the left leg — rj (3).

21. The middle-one of the three — t (4).

22. The southern-one of them — v (4).

Twenty-two stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 3rd magni-
tude, nine of the 4th, nine of the 5th.

The TJnformed-star under him.

1. The saffron-yellow (vTroKippos) star between the thighs,
called the Bearward ('Ap/c-oOpos), of the 1st magnitude.'

32 rillMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

VI. — ' The Constellation of the Northern Grown.

1. The brigb.t-one in the Grown — a (2).

2. The foremost of all— ^ (4).

'i. The one following this and more-northerly — 9 (5).

4. The one yet following this and more-northerly — ir (6).

5. The one following the bright-one from the sonth — y (4").

6. The one yet following near to this one — S (4).

7. The one again following after these — € (4).

8. The one following all those in the Grown — i (4).

Eight stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 2nd magnitude,
five of the 4th, one of the 6th, one of the 6th.'

Note.
The C'roini, wliicli, after the addition of the
Southern Crown (Vide sujy. p. 12) to the constel-
lation-list, an alteration probably made by Hippar-
chos, was called the Northern Croirn, according to
the m3'tli (Aide Katas. v., etc.), was bestowed by the
Semitic sun-god Dionysos upon his Semitic consort
luider the name of Ariadne (' the A'ery-chaste-one '),
the ' Virgin '=Britomartis (Vide/;;/, p. IS'.O on the
occasion of his nuptials in the island of Dia (Xaxos).
The Great Goddess of the East is pre-eminently a
crowned goddess, c.//., the mural crown of Rhea.
Says Pliny, ' Emere ac vendere [specially Phoenician
accomplishments] instituit Liber Pater. Idem diadema,
regium insigne, et triumphum invenit' {Il/'st. Nat.
vii. 57; cf. Ihid. xvi. 4) ; that is to say, the Sun-god
established civilization, and first triumphantly crowned
heaven with his glowing circle. He is pre-eminently
the 'King' (Melekh). The Homeric epithet for
Ariadne is Kalliplokamos (//. xviii. 592), ' Having-
beautiful-tresses ' ; and that the IlXo/ca/xo? Bepez/i'/cTj?
{Sup. p. 12) was originally considered to belong to
Ariadne is clear. ' They say that her Tress is that
which is seen at the tail of the Lion' (Katas. v.).
' Eius et crinem esse, qui fulget sub cauda Leonis '

in] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 33

(Scliol. German, in voc. Corona). Thus in the
heavens we have the Croivn of Ariadne, the Tress of
Ariadne, and Ariadne herself as Istar- F«>^o, the two
former being placed as near the Parthenos as possible.

VII. — ' The Constellation op the Kneeler.

1. The one at the head — a (3).

2. The one at the right shoulder by the arm -pit — /3 (3).

3. The one at the right arm — y (3).

4. The one at the bend of the right arm — k (4).
.5. The one at the left shoulder — 8 (3).

6. The one at the left arm — A (4).

7. The one at the bend of the left arm — /a (4).

8. The hindmost of the three in the left wrist — (4).

9. The northern of the two remaining ones — v (4).

10. The more-southerly-one of them — ^ (4).

11. The one in the right side — i, (4).

12. The one in the left side — e (5).

13. The more-northerly than this at the left buttock — 59 (5).

14. The one at the outgrowth of the same [i.e., the left] thigh

—61 (4).

15. The foremost of the three in the left thigh — ir (4).

16. The one behind this— 69 (4).

17. The one yet behind this — p (4).

18. The one at the left knee— ^ (4).

19. The one at the left shin— t (4).

20. The foremost of the three at the end of the left foot— 77 (6).

21. The middle-one of the three— 82 (6).

22. The hindmost of them — 30 Draconis (6).

23. The one at the outgrowth of the right thigh — 17 (4).

24. The more-northerly-one than it and in the thigh — cr (4).

25. The one at the right knee — r (4).

26. The more-southerly-one of the two below the right knee —

27. The more-northerly-one of them — v (4).

28. The one in the right shin — x (4).

29. The one at the end of the right foot, identical with that at

the end of the shepherd's crook — v^ and v^ Bootis (4).
Twenty-eight stars in all without this, whereof six (are) of
the 3rd magnitude, seventeen of the 4th, two of the 5th, three
of the 6th.

3

34

PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ni

The Unformed-one outside him.
1. The more-southerly than that in the right arm, one star of
the 5th magnitude ' — <o.

Note.
This constellation is Eupliratean in origin and was
known as (Ak.) Li(;/a/, (Bab.-As.) Sarru (' the King ').
It originally represented the kneeling Sun-god, some-
times overcoming the Lion, sometimes shooting at
the Demon-birds. Adopted by the Phoenicians, it
became Melqarth-77arf/t7;a^ (HCrakl^s), and is repro-
duced on coins, etc. (Vide inf. pp. 199, 234:).

VIII. — ' The Constellation of the Lyre.

1. The bright-one at the shell called the Lyre — a (1).

2. The northern-one of the two lying by the side of it near

together — e (-i).

3. The more-southerly-one of them — ^ (4).

4. The one behind these and in the middle of the outgrowth of

the horns (of the Lyre) — S ; 8^ (4).

5. The northern-one of the two lying together in the (figure)

of the shell towards the east — r] (4).

6. The more-southerly-one of them — 6 (4).

7. The more-northerly of the two foremost ones in the cross-

bar— /3 (3).

8. The more southerly-one of them — c^, v- (4).

9. The more-northerly of the two hindmost ones in the cross-

bar — y (3).
10. The more-southerly-one of them — X (4).

Ten stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude, two of
the 3rd, seven of the 4th.'

Note.
The Hellenic myth connected with the constella-
tion is the comparatively late story of Hermes, ' der
Windgott' (Roscher), ' the Lord of cloud' (Ruskin),
as the inventor of the Lyre from the Tortoise, which
is related in the Homeric Hymn Eis Hermrn, But
the earlier history of the Sign is twofold, Euphratean
and Phoenician. On the Euphratean side it was

hi] the HIPPARCno-PTOLEMY STAli-LIST. 35

originally IhuUtartaUia- ( W. A. I. 11. Iviii. 52), the
third of the three Birds opposed to Hfiraklijs. Thus,
its chief star, 'steel-blue Veija, The zenith -queen of
the heavenly lyre ' (E. B. Jr., The Ascent of Souls^
iv.), is AI-Nesr-al-Wald (Vide Ulogh Beigh's Star
Catalogue^ in vnr.), Vtiltiir cadeiis, 'the Falling
Grype,' and the Wega of the Alplionsine Tables.
According to an Arab commentator on Ulugh Beigh,
the stars e and f represented the two wings of the
' Grype,' by drawing in which he let himself swiftly
down to the earth. On the Phoenician side, Lyra
is a musical instrument, also specially connected Avith
Herakles, who, with his lyre, kills Linos (Apollod.
11. iv. 9, etc.), the Phoenician dirge Ai-Lcnu ('Alas
for us!') personiiied. The Homeric name for the
lyre is (j)6pfii,y^^ and it is probable that Xv/sa, as
E. p.. Wharton {Etym. (/rae., 1882, in voc.) suggests,
is a Semitic word ; like kithara (= Eng. guitar),
nahla (=Sem. nehel)^ Jcinura (=Sem./a»»«r), samluki}
(=Sem. sabkah). and othone{^8em.. efun). This
view is confirmed by the account of the constellation
in Aratos. He names it Xelns (' the Tortoise'), and
says : ' This, whilst yet Encradled, Hermes pierced and
called it Lyre' {^AvpT^v Si fitv elire Xeyeadai. Phaniom.
269). The reasonable interpretation of the passage
is that the latter term was a new and foreign name.

IX. — ' The CoNSTELLATioisr of the Bird.

1. The one at the mouth — /8 (4).

2. The one behind this at the head — </> (5).
?>. The one in the middle of the neck — -q (4).

4. The one in the breast — y (3).

5. The bright-one in the tail — a (2).

6. The one in the bend of the right wing — 2 (3).

7. The southern-one of the three in the flat of the right wing

3 *

36 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ni

8. The middle-one of tlie three— i^ (4).

9. The northern-one of them and (that) at the end of the flat

(of the wing) — k (4).

10. The one at the bend of the left wing — e (3).

11. The more-northerly-one of these and (that) in the middle of

the same wing — A. (4).

12. The one in the end of the flat of the left wing — C (3)-

13. The one at the left foot— r (4).

14. The one at the left knee — ? (4).

15. The foremost of the two in the right foot — 0^ (4).

16. The hindmost of them— 32 (4).

17. The nebulous-one at the right knee — ui^ (5^

Seventeen stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 2nd magnitude,
five of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, two of the .5th.'

Note.

The "Opvi<; p.eya'i or Swan, a bird sacred to Aphrodite,
is connected in Hellenic myth with the crowned (Vide
I'nf. p. 37) goddess of Rhamnous in Attike (Vide Katas.
XXV. etc.), whose temple stood 'a little way from the
sea ' (Paus. I. xxxiii. 2), and whose name the Greeks
translated by Nemesis, i.e., the Power-which-distri-
butes-what-is-due, in later times generally understood
as the PoAver which recompenses evil men according to
their deeds. In origin she is the Semitic goddess of
destiny or good fortune, whom Xonnos (v. 70) calls
' the blue-eyed ]\I^ne ' and identifies with Athene
Onka ('the Burning ') a Phoenician goddess of Thebes.
Sanchouniathon (i. 6) names her Etfiap/j,ev7] (= Sem.
Aimer, ' word,' ' speech, '+ Meni), Destiny (= Fahm.,
' the Spoken-word '). She is Gidde, goddess of good
luck, and forms a divine couple with Gad. They
appear together in Is. Ixv. 11 : ' But as for you that
forsake Yahveh, . . . that prepare a table for Gad
(=the Fortune-god), and that furnish the drink
offering unto Meni.' The name means ' Number,'
i.e., the lucky number. So in Dan. v. 25 : ' Men^,

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAK-LIST. yj

Mene '=' numbered,' repeated to sIioav irrevocable
determination. ' The Babylonian goddess of Fate is
called by Zonaras (Ixv. 11) Meni, and is translated
Tu%i;, Fortuna' (Bunsen, Egypt's Place^ iv. 253).
An Etruscan mirror (Gerhard, Et. Spiegel^ No. cccxxii.)
shows, Atunis (= Adonis, Ph. Adoni, ' ]\Iy Lord ')
embraced by Turan (^ a-J'^-OURAN-m), whilst
a huge Swan (= the opvi,<i /ie'vo.?), called Tusna^
stretches its head lovingly upwards, and almost
touches the croAvn (Vide mip.) of the goddess. Prof.
Sayce informs me that the As. name of the swan is
supposed to be tiissu. The Eev. Wm. Houghton
wrote me with reference to the above representation :
' I have been unable to discover any Hebrew, Assy-
rian, or Phoenician name for the swan. However,
Tusna on the mirror seems to be, as you suggest, the
Et. form of a Semitic swan-word.' Thus, in Tusna
Ave probably have a Sem. swan -word with ah Et.
ending {na) ; and it supplies an interesting instance
of that direct connexion between Etruria and Phoe-
nicia, of which there must have been so much, and
about which we know so little.

X. — 'The Constellation of Kassiepeia.

1. Tlie one at the head — ^ (4).

2. The one in the breast — a (3).

,3. The one more-northerly than this and at the girdle — rj (4).

4. That which is above the seat, over the thighs— y (3).

.5. The one in the knees — S (3).

6. The one above the ankle — e (4).

7. The one at the end of the foot — tj/ (4).

8. The one at the left arm — 6 (4).

9. The one below the bend of the left arm — ^ (5).

10. The one at the right fore-arm — o- (6).

11. The one above the seat of the chair — k (4).

12. The one in the middle of the back of the recumbent-chair

-^ (3).

38 PIUJIITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ni

13. The one at the extremity of the back of the recumbent-chair

-P (6).
Thirteen stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 3rd magni-
tude, six of the 4th, one of the 5th, two of the 6th.'

Note.
The Baal of tlie North (Vide sup. p. 30) had, as
of course, his female reflexion or Baalfith (Baaltis,
Beltis), and she was the beautiful Eurynomc of the
Zeus Kasios, otherwise called Qassiu-peaer (cf Heb.
jieacr^ 'beautiful', 'rosy-faced', Rhode-Rhodeia),
= Kassiepeia, a name which, according to Souidas
(ill voc.) signified Kallone ('the Beauty.' Cf.
Kalliste-Kallistri). Zeus Kasios had a celebrated
temple at a place called KassiopS in Korkyra, whither
his cult had been probably brought by the early
settlers from Euboia. In the cuneiform we meet
Avith ' the goddess Kas-se-ba ' (IF. A. I. III. Ixix. 67).

XI. — ' The Constellation of Perseus.

1. The nebulous combination at the end of the right hand — x

(nebulous) .

2. The one at the bend of the right hand — 1? (4).

3. The one at the I'ight shoulder — y (.3).

4. The one at the left shoulder— 6 (4).

5. The one at the head — r (4).

6. The one at the broad of the back — t (4).

7. The bright-one in the right side — a (2j.

S. The foremost of the three behind the one in the side — cr (4).

9. The middle one of the three — \L (4).

10. The hindmost of them— 8 (3).

11. The one at the bend of the left arm — k (4).

12. The bright-one of those in the Gorgon-head — /3 (2).

13. The one behind this — <o (4).

14. The one in front of the bright-one — p (4).

15. The one yet in front of this and the remaining-one — ir (4).

16. The one in the right knee — 6 (4).

17. The one before this and above the knee — X (4).

18. The foremost of the two above the bent knee — 48 (4).

19. The hindmost and at the same bend — /x (4).

IIlJ THE IIIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 39

20. The one at the calf of the right leg— 53 (5).

21. The one at the right ankle— 58 (5).

22. The one in the left thigh— v (4) .

23. The one at the left knee — e (3).

24. The one at the left leg— ^ (4).

25. The one at the left heel — (3).

26. The one behind it at the end of the left leg— C (3).
Twenty-six stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 2nd magni-
tude, five of the 3rd, sixteen of the 4th, two of the 5th, one
nebulous.

The Unformed-stars around liim.

1. The one towards the east of that at the left knee — 52 (5).

2. The one on the north of those in the right knee — 2 Camel.? (5).

3. The one in front of those in the Gorgon-head — 10 (dim).
Three stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 5tli magnitude,

one dim.'

Note.
Amongst the personages in the Phoenician kos-
mogony are the brothers Schamemerum (Vide inf.
p. 40) and Ousoiis, ' who Avas the first who made
clothes of the skins of animals which he slew
[^lieraklSs in the Lion-skin] . . . and was the first
who launched a boat [i.e., made the great solar
voyage across heaven from east to west. Cf. Helios
in his solar boat-cup, which he lent to Herakles ;
Apollun Delphinios ; king Arthur in the barge ; the
Euphratean Gilgames, who ' crossed all seas ' ; Mel-
qarth, voyaging in the West; the Egyptian Ra in
his solar barque; etc. J. He erected two columns or
pillars to Fire {Iscli) and Wind' {QoIpWh. Sanch.
i. 3); and these two pillars (of Herakles) play a
great pai-t in Phoenician religious history. Thus
Herodotos (ii. 44) says : — ' I made a voyage to Tyre,
in Phoenicia, hearing there Avas a temple of Heraklea
[Melqarth] at that place, very highly venerated..
1 visited the temple, and found it richly adorned
with a number of offerings, amongst which were two

40 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

pillars, one of pure gold, the other of emerald [glass?],
shining with great brilliancy at night' (ap. Canon
Ilawlinson). Movers has shown that one pillar was
dedicated to Schame-merum-Kiyun (Chiun, Amos,
V, 26, whence Gk. Ki&)i')-Kronos, who, in a planetary
aspect, Avas identified Avith Saturn ; whilst the other
was dedicated to Ous6os-Khamman-Herakles. As
Schroeder and Lenormant have proved, such a form
as the Gk. Ou-s6os represents an original Bo-s6os
{e.fj., Ph. i>o-dam = Gk. Ou-dam) and Bo is a con-
traction of Bar {e.g., 'i?o-milcar pro i^ar-milcar,'
Gesen. Script. Lin;/. Ph. p. 431). Hence, Bo-s6os
=BAR-SAA^ (c£ E-s«M, Esuv), 'the Son-of-hair,'
i.e., ' the Hairy,' Ousuos-HeraklSs, clad in his Lion-
skin, =Gk. Perseus, 'most famous of all men' (//.
xiv. 320). 'The Hellenes know that Perseus was
the founder of Mykenai' (Pans. 11. xv. -i).

XII. — ' The Constellation of the Charioteer.

1. The more-southerly of the two at the head — 8 (4).

2. The more-northerly-one and (the one) above the head — i (4).
S. The. one at the left shoulder, called the Goat — a (1).

4. The one at the right shoulder — ^ (2).

5. The one at the bend of the right arm — v (4).

6. The one at the right wrist — (4).

7. The one at the bend of the left arm — e (4).

8. The hindmost of the two at the left wrist called the Kids —

,,(4).

9. The foremost of them — t, (4).

10. The one at the left ankle — t (3).

11. The one at the left ankle common to the head of the Bull —

/3 Tauri (3).

12. The one above this towards the north in the part-about-the-

foot-x (5).

13. The one more-northerly than this at the buttock — <^ (5).

14. The little one above the left foot— 4 (6).

Fourteen stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude,
one of the 2nd, two of the 3rd, seven of the 4th, two of the 5th,
one of the 6th.'

hi] the nirPARCIIO- PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 4 1

Xufe.
Hellenic legend connected the Charioteer with the
Athenian king Erichthonios (' Son-of- the- Earth'), who,
on account of his telluric antecedents, was, according
to some accounts, partly serpentine in form, the
Serpent being a creature in Greek idea symbolical of
the earth. So Homer speaks of ' the goodly city
of Athenai the domain of Erechtheus, whom erst
Athene fostered, and the grain-giving tilth brought
him forth, i.e., he was the Autochthon, ' and she
gave him a resting-place in Athenai ; and there the
noblest of the Athenians make him propitious wdth
the sacrifice of bulls and rams as the years roll
round' (//. ii. 54G-51). A very interesting Cornetan
vase (figured in Koscher, Lex. in voc. Erichthonios)
shows Ge, a figure half in earth, holding up the
child, wholly of human form, wdio stretches out his
arms towards Athena, whilst the goddess holds out
hers to receive him. Behind Ge is Poseidon, a demi-
human figure ending in the huge folds and tail of
a sea-monster, Dagon. There are few representations
more full of meaning than tliis vase-painting. Thus
it contains a reference to the great struggle between
Poseidon (Phoenician power) and Athena (the
Hellenic element) for Erechtheus, considered as the
primeval inhabitants of Athenai, a struggle which,
had it ended in favour of Poseidon, w^ould have
changed the whole face of history. This, however,
does not concern us here. What we have to do is to
clear up the mystery of the double Erichthonios.
There is no reason why Erichthonios, the Athenian
Autochthon, should have been connected with the
invention of the chariot, except possibly the ludicrous
one suggested by Rabelais (iv. 38) ; — ' What do you

42 PllIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

think was the cause of Erichthonius's being the first
inventor of coaches, litters, and chariots ? jSTothing
but because Vulcan had begot him with chitter-
lingdiz'd legs ; which to hide he chose to ride in
a litter.' But all is clear as soon as we remember,
and, as, Engelmann, in Koscher's Lexicon, notes froni
ApoUodoros (III. xv. 1), that Erichthonios is a
'Beiname des Poseidon.' Behind the little Attik boy.
Child of Earth, is the mighty semi-serpentine
Poseidon, ' Ea god of the deep,' and ])articularly ' of
that watery deep, the Okeanos of Homer, which
surrounds the earth like a coiled serpent ' (Sayce,
Rel. Aiict. Bahs. p. 104); and its name, the Sumerian
.iti(Ji-(i/j;:u, Sem. apsu, seems to have been the origin
of the famous magical word f(i->/r, said to mean ' the
sea ' (^Ide Clem. Alex. Strom, v. 8). Poseidon him-
self is Erichthonios, the lord of the abyss below the
surface-of-thc-earth (x^a>v) ; he is the Charioteer,
Hipparchos, Hippegetes, Hippios, Hippodromios, etc. ;
and he is the god whom men make propitious b}^ the
sacrifice of bulls (cf. Od. iii. 6 ; xiii. 181 ). He 'guards
the foundations of the earth beneath' (Oppianos,
Hal. V. 679). The stormy and earth-shaking divinity
is thus connected on the Hellenic side with the
stormy Gnat-star, Aix-Capella, the Euphratean
Askar (Vide mf. p. 130). And as CapeJla is 'the
Olenian goat' (Vide inf. p. 131), so is Poseidon, Tarax-
ippos ('the Stirrer-up-of-horses '), Ulenios (Mde
Pans. VI. XX. 7, 8). It will also be observed that
original Hellenic divinities of the first class are
invariably anthropomorphic.

^J^II-— ' The Constellation of the Snahe-liolder.

1. The one at the head— a (3).

2. The foremost of the two at the right shoulder—^ (4).

Ill] THE HIPPAECHO-rTOLEMY STAIMJST.

43

3. The hindmost of them — y (4).

4. The foremost of the two at the left shoulder — t (4).

5. The hindmost of them — k (4).

6. The one at the bend of the left arm — X (4).

7. The foremost of the two at the end of the left hand— 8 (3).
S. The hindmost of them — e (3).

y. The one at the bend of the right arm — yu, (4).

10. The foremost of the two at the end of the right hand — v (4) .

11. The hindmost of them — t (4).

12. The one at the right knee— 17 (3).

13. The one at the right leg— ^ (4).

14. The foremost of the two at the right foot — A (4).

15. The one after this — d (4.)

16. The one yet after this — tt (4).

17. The remaining-one and hindmost 01 the fotir — h (5).

18. The one after these and attached to the heel — c (0).

19. The one in the left knee— C (3).

20. The more-northerly of the three in a straight line in the left

leg-<^ (5).

21. The middle-one of them — x (5)-

22. The south-one of the three — ij/ (5).

23. The one at the left heel— o. (5).

24. The one attached to the hollow of the left foot — p (0).
Twenty-four stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 3rd

magnitude, thirteen of the 4th, six of the 5th.

The Unformed-stars around Mm.

1. The more-northerly of the three eastwards from the right

shoulder — 66 (4).

2. The middle one of the three — 67 (4).

3. The southern-one of them — 68 (4).

4. The one behind the three and beyond the middle-one — 70(4).

5. The one more-northerly than the four, by itself — 72 (4).

Five stars in all, of the 4th magnitude.'

Xote.

In this List the Snake is made a separate constel-
lation. ' Ophiuchus huge' (Milton) ^ Asklepios-
Eschmun (Vide inf. p. 168), the 'Eighth' of the
Kabirim, who stands upon SJcorp/os, the eighth Sign
of the Zodiac (Vide inf. p. 169).

44 TRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

XIV. — ' The Constellation of the Snahe op the Snahe-liolder.

1. Of the quadrilateral in the head the one at the end of the

under-jaw — i (4).

2. The one attached to the nostrils — p (4).

3. The one in the side-of-the-head — y (3).

4. The one towards the outgrowth of the neck — jS (3) .

5. The middle-one of the quadrilateral and in the mouth —

K (4).

6. The one outside the head and towards the north — ir (6).

7. The one after the first bend of the neck — S (3).

8. The northern one of the three next-in-order to this — X (4).

9. The middle-one of the three — a (3).

10. The southern-one of them — t (3).

11. The foremost-one of the left hand of the Snake-lwlder after

the next bend — /a (4) .

12. The one after those in the hand — v OplnoucM (5).

13. The one after the back of the right thigh of the Snake-

holder — V (4).

14. The more-southerly of the two behind this — i (4).

15. The more-northerly of them — o (4).

16. The one after the right hand at the bend of the tail — ^(4).

17. The one behind this in like manner at the tail — rj (4).

18. The one at the end of the tail — 6 (4).

Eighteen stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 3rd magnitude,
twelve of the 4th, one of the 5th.'

XV. — ' The Constellation op the Arrow.

1. The one by itself at the barb — y (4).

2. The last of the three in the shaft — ^ (6) .

3. The middle-one of them — 8 (5).

4. The foremost of the three — a (5).

5. The one at the point of the notch — /3 (5).

Five stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 4th magnitude, three
of the 5th, one of the 6th.'

Xoie.

As to the Arrow, vide ?nf. p. 131. In Seni.

I have fully explained this constellation-figure, as

affording an excellent illustration of the principles

here adopted.

XVI. — ' The Constkllatiox of the Eagle.
1. The one in the middle of the head — t (4).

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLKMY STAR-LIST. 45

2. The one in front of this and at the neck — /8 (3).

3. The bright one at the broad of the back called the Eagle

-a (2).

4. The one near this on the north — o (3).

5. The foremost of the two in the left shoulder — y (3).
(->. The hindmost of them — (5).

7. The foremost of the two in the right shoulder—/*. (5).
S. The one behind it — o- (5).

9. The one further off near the tail of the Uagle attached to the
Milky Way—t (3).

Nine stars in all, 'whereof one (is) of the 2nd magnitude, four
of the 3rd, one of the 4th, three of the 5th.

The {asterism) near the Eagle, vpon which Antinoos (has been
placed'].

1 . The foremost of the two south of the head of the Eagle — r (3).

2. The hindmost of them— 6 (3).

3. The one south-west of the right wing of the Eagle — 8 (4).

4. The one south of this — i (3).

5. The one still more south than this — k (-5) .

6. The foremost of all— X (3).

Six stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 3rd magnitude, one
of the 4th, one of the 5th.'

Xote.
The constellation of the Eagle is especially
interesting both because in this case we can trace
very clearly the pre-constellational history of the
Sign, and because the original Euphratean name has
been preserved. The Sum.-Ak. Eagle was Alula
('the Great-spirit.' Vide Gilgames Epic Tab. vi.),
' the symbol of the noontide sun ' (Sayce, Rel. And.
Bahs. p. 248). Here we have the pre-constellational
history of the Sign, which is subsequently redupli-
cated in stellar form, as KaMcab Iclkhu, ilu Zamiama
(otherwise Zagaga), ' the constellation the Eagle,
i.e., the god Zaraama.' The principal star of this
constellation is also called Idkhi (otherwise Eruju,
i.e., ' the Powerful-bird '), ' the Eagle,' Ar. Al Tair
(' the Great-bird'), the Altair or Atair of star-maps;

46 PRUIITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [ni

and this peculiarity, as will be noticed, reappears
in the Hipparcho- Ptolemy List (Vide E. B. Jr.,
IJ.S.B. Part i. pp. 16-17; Part iv. p. IT) et seq.).
The famous story, preserved by Aelianus (xii. 21),
about the Eagle and the Babylonian hero Gilgamos,
exactly confirmed Mr. Pinches' discovery that the
true reading of the name of the hero of the great
solar epic was not Gristubar, but Gilgames. As to
Anh'nous, vide st/jj. p. 13.

XVII. — 'The Constellation op the Dolphin.

1. The foremost of the three in the tail — e (3).

2. The more-northerly of the two remaining ones — t (4).

3. The more-southerly-one of them — k (4).

4. The southern-one of the foremost side of those in the

rhomboidal quadrilateral — /8 (.3).

5. The more-northerly-one of the foremost side — a (3).

6. The southern-one of the hindmost side of the lozenge — S (3).

7. The northern-one of the hindmost side — y (3).

8. The southern-one of the three between the tail and the

lozenge — 7 (6).

9. The foremost of the two remaining northern-ones — ^ (6).
10. The remaining and hindmost-one of them — 6 (6).

Ten stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 3rd magnitude, two
of the 4th, three of the 6th.'

Xote.
In Hellenic astronomical myth the Dolphin is the
messenger and favoui'ite of Poseidon (Kakis. xxxi.
etc.). ' Qui Neptuno simulacra faciunt, delphinum
aut in manu, aut sub pede ei constituere videmus '
(Hyginus, Be Sif/nor. ii. 17). According to Hyginus,
Aglaosthenes, who may possibly have been the author
of the Homeric Hymn Ms Diomjson, also connected
the Dolphin with Dionysos, in his relation of the
same story which is the subject of the Hymn (Vide
inf. p. 293). The Dolphin is therefore naturally
associated with Palaimon-Melqarth (Mde hif. pp. 158

Ill] THE HlPPARCnO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 47

212); and with Apollon, when the latter is regjarded
as a sea-crossing Sun-god (Vide inf. j)p. ISf), 243).
Houghton considers that the As. Xahhiru ('jSTostril-
animal '), Syr. Xakhira, was the Dolphin. Tukulti-
pal-esar (Tiglatli-Pileser) I., cir. B.C. 1120, says,
on the Broken Obelisk Inscription {W. A. I. I.
xxviii. 3), that he killed a na/chiru in the Great Sea
(the Mediterranean).

XVIII. — ' The Constellation of the Foremost-part of a Horse.

1. The foremost of the two in the head — a (dim).

2. The hindmost of them — /3 (dim).

3. The forem.ost of the two in the mouth — y (dim).

4. The hindmost of them — S (dim).

Four stars in all, dim.'

XIX. — 'The Constellation of the Horse.

1. The one at the navel, also belonging to the head of

Androv%eda — a Androm. (2).

2. The one at the small of the back and the end of the wing-

feathers — y (2).

3. The one at the right shoulder and at the outgrowth of the

foot— ;8 (2).

4. The one at the broad of the back and at the shoulder-blade

of the wing — a (2).

5. The more-northerly-one of the two in the body under the

wing — T (4).

6. The more-southerly-one of them — v (4).

7. The more-northerly -one of the two in the right knee — r (3).

8. The more-southerly-one of them — (5).

9. The foremost of the two near-together in the chest — X (4).

10. The hindmost of them — ^ (4).

11. The foremost of the two near-together in the neck — ^ (3).

12. The hindmost of them— ^ (4).

13. The more-southerly-one of the two at the mane — p (5).

14. The more-northerly-one of them — cr (5).

15. The more-northerly-one of the two near-together at the

head— e (3).

16. The more-southerly-one of them — v (4),

17. The one in the muzzle — £ (3).

18. The one in the right ankle — ifi (4).

48 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

19. The one at the left knee— t (4).

20. The one at the left ankle— k (4).

Twenty stars in aH, whereof four (are) of the 2nd magnitude,
four of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, three of the 5th.'

h'ote.
The Horse of Poseidon the Charioteer^ is 'located
next his Dolphin. But it is also a Demi-horse, a
Sea-horse, half seen as it springs upwards out of the
Great Deep which is situated in this part of the
heavens, into ^Yhich run the river Eridanos and the
stream from the Urn of HijdrochoiJ'^, and in which
the pair of Tunnies (Ichthyes), the Do7j)hm, the
Southern Fish^ the Sea-monster, and the Goat-fish
(^Capricurn) disport themselves. Of this watery
deep Ea-Poseidon, as we have seen {Sup. p. 42), is
lord and ruler. In the Euphratean sphere the ecliptic
is (Ak. ) Kas- Utu ('Path-of-the- Sun '), in A s. Kharran-
Sauisl ( W. A.I. III. liii. Xo. 1, Rev. 1. 15) ; and a
portion of this Path and its neighbourhood, i.e., the
(Ireat Deep, is naturally 'the region of Ea' (Vide
Hommel, Die Astron. der alten Chal. iii. 7). As the
coin-types show, few of the forms borrowed from
AVestern Asia have more thoroughly impressed them-
selves upon the Hellenic vforld than the Pegasos.

XX. — ' The Constellation of AndromeJa.

1. The one in the broad-of-the-back — S (3).

2. The one in the right shoulder — ir (4).
.3. The one in the left shoulder — e (4).

4. The southern-one of the three in the right arm — cr (4) .

5. The more-northerly-one of them — 9 (4).

6. The middle-one of the three — p (5).

7. The southern-one of the three at the end of the right

hand — t (4).

8. The middle-one of them — « (4).

9. The northern-one of the three — X (4).
10. The one at the left arm — ^ (4).

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAK-LIST. 49

11. The one at tte bend of the left arm— 17 (4).

12. The more-southerlj-one of the three above the girdle — y8 (3).

13. The middle-one of them — /x (4).

14. The northern-one of the three — v (4).

15. The one above the left foot — y (3).

16. The one in the right foot — 54 (4).

17. The one more-southerly than this — 51 (4).

18. The more-northerly of the two at the bend of the left

leg— 50 (4).

19. The more-southerly-one of them — t (4).

20. The one at the right knee — (j> (5).

21. The more-northerly of the two in the robe — 49 (5).

22. The more- southerly-one of them — 5^ (5).

23. The one outside (the figure) and preceding the three in the

right arm — o (3).
Twenty-three stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 3rd
magnitude, fifteen of the 4th, four of the 5th.'

Xote.
The name Andromeda. In Phil6n's translation of
the Phoenician kosmogonies it is stated that Ouranos
married his sister Ge (' Earth'), 'who was so called
on account of her beauty.' This statement, as it
stands, is unintelligible, and we see at once that its
force depends on the Ph. name translated ' Ge.'
This, Lenormant admirably renders by Adamath
(' the female Earth ') ; or, as adam^ As. admu, ' man,'
is ' connected Avith the root which means to be red '
(Sayce, As. Led. p. 145), the ' Ruddy ' or ' Rosy-one.'
The fair Kassiepeia,Eurynome (= '$>qvii. Erehhnd' emd)-
Derket6, had a l)eautiful daughter Schachar (' the
Morning-red'), beloved of the Sun-god (Vide Gruppe,
Der phoiniMsche Urtext der Kassiepeia-legende, 1888),
and she is Andromeda (' the Rosy-one '). The Greeks
had evidently much difficulty in rendering this name,
as their language did not supply them with any
forms like 'man-ess' or 'male-ess,' which latter
{i.e., the As. zilmrat) we find in the cuneiform

4

50 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

inscriptions. They could not translate Adamatli
by 'Avhp6r^vvo<;, -which meant something altogether
different; and so they translated the first part of the
name and transliterated the second, and thus of
Addm-muth made Andro-media) . The rosy dawn
Adamath, as in other mythologies, becomes the bi-ide
of the Sun-god, Bai'sav-Perseus.

XXI. — ' The Constellatiox of the Triangle.

1. The one in tlie summit of the Triangle — a (3).

2. The foremost of the three at the base — ji (3) .
8. The middle-one of them — S (4) .

4. The hindmost of the three — y (3).

Four stars in all, whereof three (are) of the 3rd magnitude,
one of the 4th.'

Note.

This little constellation supplies a very good illus-
tration of the principles which obtained in the
formation of the Signs. The school of 0. ]\Iiiller
and the modern ' untutored anthropologist ' would
deal with its oria'in in the same futile manner with
which Milller treats the constellation of the Arrow.
They would say that someone noticed these stars,
saw they resembled a triangle, called them the
Triangle., and everyone else followed suit ; a pre-
tended explanation ichicli merely repents the fact that
such a constellation exists. But, suppose Ave ask. As
there are hundreds of stars which might have been
combined in triangles, how comes it that these
particular stars, which, moi-eover, form a perfect
isosceles triangle, were selected? To this Ignorance
would answer that the stars chanced to be selected,
and that the circumstance that the figure is an
isosceles triangle Avas also accidental and devoid of
any significance. But, rejecting this vain repetition

Ill] THE Iin'PARCIIO-PTOLEMV STAR-LIST. 5 1

of the facts of tlie case, in the first place we observe
that Aratos says : — •

' Another Sign is formed, too, near at hand
Below Androineda, in three sides measured
Like-to- a-Belta ; equal two of them
As it has, less the third, yet good to find
The Sign, than many better stored with stars '

{U. B. 233-7).

Not without careful design has this Triangle been

placed with the family group of Phoenician divinities.

It is an exact celestial reproduction of the sacred

pyramidal monoliths, specimens of which still exist

in Kypros, and which appear on her coinage (Vide

Perrot, Hist, of Art in Ph. i. 280-1) ; and it further

serves as a symbol of the sacred form of the Tripod.

In all regions within the sphere of Phoenician influence

the sacred Stone (Vide sup. p. 30) occupies a most

prominent place, and actually represents both god

and goddess. Thus, Tacitus describes the statue

of Aphrodite of Pappa (Paphos), — ' Simulacrum deae,

non effigie humana, continuus orbis latiore initio

tenuam inambitum, metae modo, exsurgens ' {Hist.

ii. 3). Maximus Tyrius records, ' The Paphians

worship Aphrodite, whose statue is like a white

pyramid' ( D/sser^. xxxviii. ; cf. Servius, in Aen.

i. 720 ; Philostratos, Ta es ton Tyanea Apollon.

iii. 58 ; E. B. Jr., G. D. 21. i. 350 et seq.). And

this pyramidal stone and pillar cult was early

introduced by the Phoenicians into European

continental Hellas. Thus, near Sikyon was ' an

altar of Poseidon of the Isthmus, and statues of Zeus

Meilichios [Melekh-Melqarth] and Artemis called

Patroa [the ' Tutelary'], wrought with no skill,' i.e.,

rude and archaic. ' Meilichios is like a pyramid, and

she is formed in the shape of a pillar ' (Paus. II. ix. G).

4 *

52 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iH

The very name Tsur (Tyre) or ' Rock' is a divine
appellation alike in Syria and in Israel (Tide Homnael,
Anc. Heh. Trad. p. 319 et seq.). The pyramidal
Triangle is thus symbolical and connected with the
cult of Kepheus, Kassiepeia, Perseus^ and Andro-
meda.

' And the stars of the Northern Region are altogether 360,
whereof three (are) of the 1st magnitude, eighteen of the 2nd,
eighty-one of the 3rd, one hundred and seventy-seven of the
4th, fifty-eight of the 5th, thirteen of the 6th, nine dim,
one nebulous.'

' The Star-list of the Northern Figures in the Zodiac.
I. — The Constellation of the Havi.

1. The foremost of the two at the horn — y (3).

2. The hindmost of them— /8 (3).

3. The more-northerly of the two at the muzzle — rj (5).

4. The more-southerly of them — 9 (6).

5. The one at the neck — t (5).

6. The one at the loins — v (6).

7. The one at the outgrowth of the tail — c (5).

8. The foremost of the three in the tail — 8 (4).

9. The middle-ono of the three— C (4).

10. The hindmost of them— t- (4).

11. The one in the back of the thigh — p' (5).

12. The one under the bend (of the hind leg) — cr (.5).

13. The one at the end of the hind foot— 87 Ceti (4).
Thirteen stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 3rd magnitude,

four of the 4th, six of the 5th, one of the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around him.

1. The one over the head, which Hipparchos (places) at the

muzzle — a (3).

2. The hindmost and brightest of the four above the loins — 41

(4).

3. The more-northerly of the three remaining and dimmer-ones

—39 (5).

4. The middle-one of the three — 35 (5).
6. The more-southerly of them — 33 (5).

Five stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 3rd magnitude, one
of the 4th, three of the 5th.'

in] THE HIPPARCIIO-PTOLBMr STAK-LIST. 53

yofe.
This constellation affords a perfect illustration of
the Law of llecluplication, in accordance with which
the symbolism connected with very obvious natural
phenomena reappears in a subsequent application to
phenomena less immediately noticeable. The com-
parison of the sun to a ram or bull is a line of thought
which naturally and spontaneously arises in the mind
of archaic man ; and even a modern writer can use
quite similar language, and tell how the sun ' thrusts
forth his golden horns ' (Jeremy Taylor, Holi/ Dying,
p. 17); and in so doing, butts triumphantly against
the darkness which he thus puts to flight. Similarly,
in W. A. I. IV. xxvii. 21, we have the comparison,
' Its horns shine like the splendour of the Sun-god.'
In the Euphrates Valley the sun was styled a Luhat
(' Old-sheep'), and ultimately the seven planets were
called hikkabdni Luhati ('Old-sheep-stars'), and, as
observation of the sun must necessarily have long
preceded any classification of planets, this symbolic
view of the sun, as an old-sheep or Ram, is necessarily
of a remote antiquity. Thus, again, in ancient Egypt
the Ram-sun is,

' The brilliant One who sliines in the waters of the inundation ;
He who enters and comes forth continually from his highly

mysterious cavern [the Under-world],
He who raised his head and lifts his forehead ;
The Ram, the greatest of the creatures '

{Litany of Ed, i. 26, ap. Naville).

The Ram-headed sun-god is frequently portrayed

upon the monuments. Similarly, in India the solar

Indra is styled ' the Ram irradiating the firmament '

(Rig-veda, I. li. 1, 2) ; so that the idea is neither

specially Akkadian, Egyptian or Aryan, but one

which arises naturally in the mind of man. The

54 PlilMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

solai- Ram, who opened the day, was in time re-
duplicated by the stellar Ram, who onwards from
B.C. 2540, opened the year ; and led the starry flock
through it as their bell-weather. And this stellar
Ram was, in the first place, only the star Hainal
("the Ham,' a Arietis), the nucleus of the constel-
lation, called in Ak. Sl-nml {W. A. I. 11. vi. 9),
'Horn-star,' = As. Ailuv (-'Ram'), Heb. AyU^ Bab.-
(_Jk. Aluro.^, the first of the ten antediluvian kings
who re23resented, amongst other things, ten of the
principal stars in the ecliptic, the alleged lengths
of their reigns corresponding with the distances
between these stars. Around Hamal was formed
the laLkab Anuv Irikkah Liih'm ( W. A. I. III. liii.
No. 1, Rev. 1. 30, ' The constellation of Ann, i.e., the
constellation of the liam '), As. Lvlvnu, a loan-word.
The sphere or region of the god Ana-Anu extended
over the third of the Zodiac from the Jiam to the
Crab, both inclusive. In Gk. mythic legend the
Earn, 'pecudem Athamantidos ' (Ovid, luisfi. iv. 903),
Avas connected with the Semitic house of Atliamas-
Tammuz (A^ide Kofas. sec. xix.). It has always been
styled a 'diurnal' Sign, the true reason for this
being the fact that it originally represented a diurnal
phenomenon, i.e., the sun. In W.A.I. Y. xlvi.
No. 1, 1. 49 the J? am is defined as 'the uppermost
part of the constellation of the Scimitar (Ak. Gam).,
which was a Moon-station (For further reference to
Aries, vide R. B. Jr., L. K. 0. sec. x. ; Z. sec. i. ;
G. E. A. sec. ii. ; U. I). 29, 70). The Euphratean
astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is (Ak.) Ku,
for Ku-c = As. Agaru ('the Messenger,' bringing
the New Year), and also for As. Ku-sanldu, &w\
strong horned animal.

in] THE HIPPAKCHO-PTOLEMY STAE-LIST. 55

II- — 'The Constellation of the Bull.

1. The northern-one of the four at the severance — 5 (4).

2. The one next it— 4 (4).

3. The one besides next this— ^ (4).

4. The most-southerly of the four — (4).

5. The one behind these at the right shoulder-blade — 30 (5).

6. The one in the chest — X (3) .

7. The one at the right knee — ji (4).

8. The one at the right ankle — v (4).

9. The one at the left knee— 90 (4).

10. The one at the left leg— 88 (4).

11. Of those in the face called the Bainy-ones (Hyades), the

one at the nostrils — y (3).

12. The one between this and the northern eye — S^ (3).

13. The one between it and the southern eye — 6^ (3).

14. The bright-one of the Bainy-ones at the southern eye,

reddish-yellow — a (1).

15. The remaining-one and (the one) at the northern eye — e (3).

16. The one at the outgrowth of the southern horn and of the

ear— 97 (4).

17. The more-southerly of the two at the southern horn — 104 (5).

18. The more-northerly of them— 106 (5).

19. The one at the tip of the southern horn — ^ (3).

20. The one at the outgrowth of the northern horn — t (4).

21. The one at the tip of the northern horn, the same (which)

is in the right foot of the Charioteer — (3 (3).

22. The more-northerly of the two which are near together in

the northern ear — v^ (5).

23. The more- southerly of them — k^ (5).

24. The foremost of the two small ones in the neck — 37 (5).

25. The one behind it— w ? (6).

26. The more-southerly-one on the foremost side of the quadri-

lateral in the neck — 44 (6).

27. The more-nortlierly-one on the foremost side — ;^ (5).

28. The more-southerly-one on the hindmost side — x (^)-

29. The more-northerly-one on the hindmost side — cf> (5).

30. The northern end of the foremost side of the Cluster

(Pleiad)— 19 (5).

31. The southern end of the foremost side — 23 (5).

32. The hindmost and narrowest side of the Cluster — 27 (5).

33. The sixth and small-one of the Cluster northward.s — 18 (4).
Thirty-three stars in all, whereof one is of the 1st magnitude.

56 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

six of the 3rd, eleven of the 4th, thirteen of the 5th, one of
the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around the Bull.

1. The one below the rifjht foot and the shoulder-blade — 10 (4).

2. The foremost of the three above the southern horn — i (5).

3. The middle one of the three — 105 (5).

4. The hindmost of them— 114 (5).

6. The more -northerly of the two below the tip of the southern
horn— 126 (6).

6. The more-southerly of them — 128 (5).

7. The foremost of the five following below the northern

horn— 121 (5).

8. The one following this one — 125 (5).

9. The one following next to this — 132 (5).

10. The more-northerly of the tworemaining and following ones —

136 (5).

11. The more-southerly of them — 139 (5).

Eleven stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 4lh magnitude,
ten of the 5th.'

Note.

The primary name of the Euphratean Moon-god
appears to have been Xannav, written Ka-an-nar and
probably representing an original Na-nar (' Strong-
prince'). In Euhemeristic legend he becomes a Persian
satrap Nannaros (Vide Sayce, Rel. And. Bahs. p. 157).
He is styled ' the strong Bull, whose horn is powerful '
{W. A. I. lY. ix. 10, ap. Sayce) ; and the connexion in
idea between the moon and the bull, ox, or cow, is
so obvious as to be inevitable. In the Hittite char-
acters {Ilamath Ins. No. X.) the Bull's head is actually
combined with the crescent (Vide 11. B. Jr., C.IJ. A.
Fig. vi., p. 11). The lunar Bull is reduplicated in
the zodiacal Taurus, hence called a ' nocturnal ' Sign
and connected with the second of the ten antediluvian
kings, Alaparos (=Ak. alap, bull, -i- ur, ' founda-
tion'), 'the BuU-of-the-Foundation,' originally, i.e.,
between b.c. 4G98 and 2540, the first of the

Ul] THE IIIPrAKCIIO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 57

zodiacal Signs, in the age when ' Candidus auratis
aperit cum cornibus annum Taurus' (Vergil, Gear. i.
1^17-8). Alaparos is equated with Alcynue. (tj Tauri).
The Euphratean astronomical abbreviation of the Sign
is Te or T'e-te, the highly abraded form of the Ak.
dimmena ('foundation-stone') = As. timmena-fimvien-
tlmme-tim-tem-te (' foundation '). The ' Foundation '-
&tav {Temeunu) is the Pleiad, or particularly yl/c^o»(^
The two 'Foundations' (Te-fe) are the Pleiads and
Hyads. The Kahkah (Ak.) Gut-anna^ (As.) Alpu-
same (' Bull-of-heaven ') = (originally) the Hyads,
and is spoken of as belonging to the ' Field of Anu,'
and as being in ' the path of the sun ' (kharran samsi,
W.A.I., III. liii. Xo. 1, Rev. 15). It is specially
connected with the second month Airu-Iyyar (^Tab.
Xo. 85-4-30, 15, 1. 2). In W.A.L II. xlix. 45
Gut-anna is described as Bimit (Heb. lli'm) i.^su
('the strong Wild-bull '), also called in Ak. Am-si
('Horned bull,' i.e., the Bull with huge horns), the
Kepaov Tavpop of Ai'atos {Phainom. 167), the Urus
{Bos primirienius)., the ' Unicorn' of the A. \. of the
Bible. The huge horns, hump, etc., are faithfully
preserved in the stellar Bull above described (For
I'urther reference to Taurus., vide R. B. Jr., L. K. 0.
sec. xi. ; Z. sec. ii. ; C. E. A. sec. iii. ; U. sees, ix., x.).
The third of the ten antediluvian kings, Amillaros
{^= Ak. mulu.. As. A-mil, ' man,' + ur, ' foundation '),
' Man-of-the-foundation,' is equated with Aldebaran
(a Tauri).

111. — ' The Constellation op the Twins.

1. The one at the bead of the foremost Twin — a (2).

2. The one at the head of the hindmost Twin, reddish-yellow

-yS (2).

3. The one in the left forearm of the foremost Txin — fl (4).

4. The one in the same arm — t (4).

58 I'lUMITIVE CONSTKLLATIONS. [ill

Ti. The one following it and over tlie-broad-of-tlio-liack — i (4).
C. Tlio one following this at the right shoulder of the same
Twin — V (4).

7. The one at the hindmost shoulder of the hindmost Twin,

-'<(4).

8. The one at the right side of the foremost Twin — 57 (5).

9. The one at the left side of the hindmost Twin- -7tt (5).

10. The one at the left knee of the fonimost Twin — c (3).

11. The one at the right knee of the hindmost Timn — ^ (3).

12. The one in the left groin of the hindmost Tivin — 8 (3).

13. The one over the bent right arm of the same Twin — X (3).

14. The one at the projecting foot of the foremost Twin — r; (4j.
1.5. The one following this at the same foot — fj. (4).

IG. The one at the end of the right foot of the foremost Twin
-V (4).

17. The one at the end of the left foot of the hindmost Twin

-7(3).

18. The one at the end of the right foot of the hindmost Twin

Eighteen stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 2nd magnitude,
five of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, two of the 5th.
The Unformed-stars around them.

1. The foremost at the projecting foot of the foremost Twin

-' (4).

2. The bright-one before the foremost knee — k Ani-ifjcie (4).

3. The one before the left knee of the hindmost Twin — 36 (5).

4. Of those following the right arm of the hindmost Twin, the

midddle-one of the three — 85 (5).

5. The southern-one in a straight line — 81 (5).

(). The southern-one and towards the bend of the arm — 74 (5).
7. The bright-one following the three aforesaid — 'C Cancri (4).
Seven stars in all, whereof three (are) of the 4th magnitude,
four of the 5th.'

Kofe.

The original Twins are tlie Sun and ^loon, and,

as they are only seen together by day, (hmiiii i.s a

'diiu-nal' Sign. The third month is called in Ak.

Mun-i/a f the Making-of'-15ricks ') and Kns (' the

Twins ') ; and the archaic kosmogonic myth or legend

attached to it is that of the Two Hostile l>rcthren

and the r>uilding of the First (Jity. ' The (Jreat Twin

Ill] THE IIIPPARCnO-PTOLEMV STAR-LIST. 59

lircthren ' avIio join in building a mysterious cit)',
and Avlio are hostile to each other although they
work together, are Sun and ]\Ioon, engaged in securing
the preservation of kosmic order, and yet also con-
stantly antagonistic, as the Lion and the Unicorn
(^ ide R. B. Jr., U.) ; or, again, when the myth
becomes Euhemeristic history, the satraps Nannaros
and Parsondas (\'ide suj). p. 56). The natural
basis of this ' mythic ' opposition is that they con-
stantly chase each other, and mutually expel each
other from the crown of heaven, for which the Lion
and Unicorn fight. Thus, on the cylinders the
Ticin.'s are frequently represented feet to feet or head
to head, one above the other, i.e., when the Sun is
up the Moon is down, and conversely ; although
this does not apply to the Twi ii -%iar?,, Kastor and
L'i)hjdeuld;s, the Hellenic Dioskouroi, ' fratres Helenae,
lucida sidera ' (Hor. Ode iii. 2), variants of the
^'edic Asvinau, and whose names were naturally
bestowed by the Greeks on the Euphratean constella-
tion Mastabbagalgal ('the Great Twins'), in whom
Sun and Moon are reduplicated. The Euphratean
astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is ^[as ('Twin')
or Man -mas ; and Pallax (/3 (7 em.) is equated with
the fourth antediluvian king Ammemon (^ Ak.
umun, 'offspring' -|- (in, 'heaven'), ' OfFspring-of-
heaven,' i.e., the Sun (For further reference to
Gemmi, Vide K.B. Jr., K. 135-8 ; Z. sec. iii.).

IV. — ' The Constellation of the Crab.

1. Of the nebulous collection in the breast, the midst of that

called the Manger — e (nebulous).

2. The more-northerly of the two foremost-ones of the quadri-

lateral around the nebula — r) (4).

3. The more-southerly of the two foremost-ones — 6 (4).

6o PRIMITIVE COXSTELLATIOXS. [ill

4. The northern of the two hindmost-ones of the quadrilateral,

and of those called Asses — y (4).

5. The southern-one of the two aforesaid — S (4).

6. The one at the southern claw — a (4).

7. The one at the northern claw — i yi).

8. The one behind the northern foot — ft? (5).

9. The one behind the southern foot — y3 (4).

iSTine stars in all, whereof seven are of the 4th magnitude,
one of the 5th, and one nebulous.

The Unformed-stars around it.

1. The one beyond the bend of the southern claw— tt^ (4).

2. The one after the end of the southern claw — k (4).

•i. The foremost of the two following beyond the nebula — v (5).
4. The hindmost of them — £ (5).

Four stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 4th magnitude,
two of the 5th.'

Note.
Cancer, 'the Dark-constellation,' a 'nocturnal'
Sign, is a variant of Scorpio ; and in each case
Darkness is represented, now as the death and now
as the guardian of Light, under a somewhat repul-
sive form, as a seizing, stinging creature, variant
reduplications of the drakontic and monstrous forms
under which Darkness is personified. The Euphratean
astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is Kagar ; and
in Tab. 81-7-6, 102 the Crab appears as the constel-
lation of the fourth month under the name of Xagar-
asurra ('the Workman-of-the-River-bed'). Nagar
is probably a dialectic variant of Lamga (Vide Sayce,
Eel. xVnvt. Babs. p. 18(3), a name of Sin, the Moon-
god. Cancer is astrologically ' the House of the
Moon,' between which and the Crab there is a sin-
gular mythical connexion (Vide Gubernatis, Zoological
Mllthology., ii. 3.t4 et seq. For further reference to
Cancer, vide R. B. Jr., Z. sec. iv. ; inf. p. 209).

V. — 'The Coxstellatiox of the Lion.
1. The one at the end of the nose — k (4).

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAIi-LIST. 6l

2. The one in tlie open mouth — X (4).

3. The more-northerly of the two in the head — /^ (3).

4. The more-southerly of them — e (3).

5. The northern-one of the three in the neck — t, (3).

6. The one coming next and the middle-one of the three — y (2).

7. The southern-one of them — rj (3).

8. The one at the heart called the Little King— a (1).

9. The one more-south than it, and as at the chest — 31 (4).

10. The one a little before that at the heart — v (5).

11. The one at the right knee — \p (5).

12. The one at the fore part of the right paw — ^ (6).

13. The one at the fore part of the left paw — o (4).

14. The one at the left knee — tt (4).

15. The one at the pit of the left fore-paw-^— p (4).

16. The foremost of the three in the belly — 4i} (6).

17. The northern of the two remaining and hindmost-ones —

52 (G).

18. The more-southerly of them — 53 (6).

19. The foremost of the two at the loins — 60 (G).

20. The hindmost of them— S (2).

21. The more-northerly of the two in the rump — 71 (5).

22. The more- southerly of them — (3).

23. The one at the hack of the thigh — t (3).

24. The one in the bend of the hind legs — o- (4).

25. The one more-south than this, as if in the shank — t (4).

26. The one at the hind paws — v (5).

27. The one at the end of the tail— y8 (1).

Twenty-seven stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 1st mag-
nitude, two of the 2nd, siz of the 3rd, eight of the 4th, five of
the 5th, four of the 6th.

The Unfornitd- stars around- liim.

1. The foremost of the two beyond the back — 4^0 Leo. Min. (5).

2. The hindmost of them— 54 (5).

3. The northern-one of the three under the flank — x (^)-

4. The middle-one of them — 69 (5).

5. The southern-one of them — 58 (5).

6. The northern-part of the nebulous group between the highest

parts of the Lion and the Bear, called the Tress (dim).

7. The foremost of the southern projections of the Tress — 4

Com. Ber. (dim).

8. The part behind them in the shape of an ivy-leaf^21 etc.

Com. Ber. (dim).

62 PRIMITIVE COXSTELLA.TIOXS. [ill

Five stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 4th magnitude, four
of the 5th, and the Tress.'

Xote.
Leo, a ' diurnal ' Sif^n, is a reduplication of the
leonine Sun-god (Vide R. B. Jr., E. Appendix III.
The Sun-god and the Lion.), the opponent of the
Unicorn-moon. It is called in Ak. Ur-gula ('the
Big-dog,' i.e.., Lion), As. Aril rahu, the constellation
of the fifth month {Xid.e Tah. 85-4-30, 15) ; and the
Euphratean astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is
A for ^-rfi, Heb. Ary!ah. In W. A. I. III. lix.
Xo. 13, 1. 3 we read : — ' The constellation of the
Lion (Ur-guIa) is obscured,' and in 1. 5 'The star
of the King (is) obscured.' This latter, one of the
' 12 stars of the West' (lb. 11. xlix. Xo. 1, 1. 5) is
the Ak. Lu-qal, As. Sam/, Gk. Bao-tX/o-Ko?, Lat.

Regnhts (n Leonis). 'O Aeuv e^ei iirl t?}? KapBla<;
^aarepa HaaiXttJKOv Xejofievov, 6v oi ~K.d\.haloi vofit^ovaiv

dpKeov Tcov ovpavtav (Scliol. Arat. Pluiinom. 148). This
star affords a very good illustration of the remark-
able fact that the main features of Classical, and, as
of course, of modern astronomical nomenclature, have
descended to us unchanged from the Sumero-Akkadai
of a remote period. The connexion between the
Sun, king of the heavenly host, and the Lion, king
of animals, is almost as obvious and inevitable as
that between the Moon and the Bull (Vide Guber-
natis. Zoological Mythology .^ ii. 154 ei seq.). Macrobius
expresses the general idea when he says, ' This beast
seems to derive his own nature from that luminary
[the sun], being in force and heat as superior to all
other animals as the sun is to the stars. The lion is
always seen with his eyes wide open and full of fire,
so doth the sun look upon the earth Avitli open and

IllJ THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 63

fiery eye ' {Sat i. 21). The following is a very
interesting instance of the solar lion : — ' Mr. Raskin
exhibited a handsomely illuminated leaf from the
Bible of Chai'les the Bald, c'randson to Charlemaffne,
"which bore in the centre a yellow lion . . . The
motto on the Bible leaf was " This lion rises, and by
his rising breaks the gates of hell [Hades] ; this
lion never sleeps, nor shall sleep for evermore " '
(t'^fdndard, Nov. 3, 1884). So Herakles, clad in his
lion-skin, overcomes A'idoneus at the 'Gate'(eV HvXcp,
II. V. 397) of the Under-world. Regidus is equated
■with the fifth antediluvian king, Amegalaros (:= Ak.
Jl/dii, As. Amil, 'Man,' + </aZ, ' great,'^' king,' 4-
H)\ 'celestial sphere'), ' King-of-the-celestial-sphere '
(Vide the above quotation from the Schol. on Aratos.
For further reference to Leo^i vide R. B. Jr., L. K. 0.
sec. xiv. ; Z. sec. v.).

VI. — 'The Constellation of the Virgin.

1. The sciitlierii-oiie of the two at, the top of the head — v (5).

2. The more-northerly of them — ^ (5).

3. The more-northerly of the two behind these in the face —

0(5).

4. The more-southerly of them — tt (5).

5. The one at the top of the southern and left wing — j3 (3).

6. The foremost of the four in the left wing — 17 (3).

7. The one next to this — y (3).

8. The one besides next to this — 44 ? (51.

9. The last and hindmost of the foui- — 6 (4).

10. The one in the right side under the girdle — S (3).

11. The foremost of the three in the right and northern wing —

p(5).

12. The southern of the two remaining-ones — 33 ? (6).

13. The northern-one of them and (the one) called Vintage-

herald— e (5. Qy. 3 ?).

14. The one at the end of the left hand called JEar-of-corn — a (1) .

15. The one below the girdle, as if towards the right buttock —

^ (3;.

64 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOSS. [ill

16. The northern-one of the foremost side of the quadrilateral

ia the left side— 74 (5).

17. The southern-one of the foremost side — 76 (6).

18. The more-northerly of the tv70 in the hindmost side — S2 (4).

19. The more-southerly-one on the hindmost side — ? (5).

20. The one at the left knee— 86 (5).

21. The one at the back of the right thigh— 90 ? (.5).

■2>. The middle-one of the three in the robe at the feet — t (4).

23. The southern-one of them — k (4).

24. The northern-one of the three — </> (4).

25. The one at the end of the left and southern foot — X (4).

26. The one at the end of the right and northern foot — /a (3).
Twenty-six stars in all, whereof one (is) of the first magnitude,

si.x of the 3rd, si.K of the 4th, eleven of the 5th, two of the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around lier.

1. The foremost of the three in a straight line below the left

arm— X (5).

2. The middle-one of them — ^j/ (5).

3. The hindmost of the three— 49 (5).

4. The foremost of the three in a straight line below the Ear-

of-corn — 53 (6).

5. The middle-one of them also a double (star) — 61 (5).
C. The hindmost of the three— 73 ? (6).

Six stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 5th magnitude, two
of the 6th.

And together [i.e., the stars of ' the Northern Region ' -j- the
Northern Zodiacal stars] these (are) all the stars of the Northern
Hemisphere.'

Xote.
The Sumero- Akkadian goddess Istar (' Heaven-
daughter'), Sem. Ashtoreth, Gk. Astarte, originally
represented the ]\Ioon in its female phase (Luna,
vide Sayce, Bah. Lit. pp. 35, 37), Ashtoreth
Qarnaim ('the Twy-horned Astarte,' Gen. xiv. 5) ;
but Istar was subsequently identified with the planet
Venus., and her stellar constellational reduplication
is the 'nocturnal' Sign F/r</o (Sayce, Trans. Soc.
Bib. Archaeol. iii. 168), the Sign of the sixth month,
called A7 Gingirna ('the Errand-of-Istar '). She is

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 65

naturally the presiding- divinity of the month, and
her ' ei-rand ' is to seek her lost bridegroom Duwiizi-
Tammaz in the Under-world, as described in the
now familiar legend of The Descent of Istar. The
sixth Tablet of the great solar epic of Gilgames is
mainly occupied witli an account of the doings of
Istar, who, as I have shown elsewhere (Vide R. B.
Jr., K.), reappears in Greek mythology as KirkC-.
The planetary Istar is double-phased as (1) the
Morning-star, goddess of War, and (2) the Evening-
star, goddess of Love. The star Vintage-lierald
(Gk. Protrijgrtcr^ Lat. Viiuleviiatrix^ Vmdenw'tor) is
named in a doubtful line (138) in Arat. Phainom. ;
and from its being connected in time with the
vintage, appears to have attracted more attention
than its mere brightness seems to warrant. At
present it is a smaller 3rd magnitude star, but the
reading in the List which gives it as of the 5th
magnitude must surely be erroneous. Of course the
brightness of many stars varies in different ages, and
yet, after making allowance for this, it is often difS-
cult to rmderstand the magnitudes given in the List.
The Euphratean astronomical abbreviation of the
Sign is Ki (Vide sup.). The Great Goddess of
Western Asia was both virgin and mother, hence the
Parthenos-Virgo element. In Tablets of the third
century B.C. (Vide R. B. Jr., in the Academy.^ Nov.
10, 1894, p. 379), a Virginis (Gk. Stachys, Lat. Sjyica)
is called Xihittu sa ziri (' The one called Ear-of-corn,'
Heb. zera, ' grain,' ' seed ') ; and in Tablet K. 12,126
we meet with the (Ak.) Mul Khi-se, (As.) Kakkah
Esiru-ziri (' Propitious-one-of-seed') which may
perhaps = Spica. The Ear-of-corn appears on the
monuments (Vide R. B. Jr., G. E. A. Fig. vii. p. 11).

5

66 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

Stachys also= Lat. Puhes, and the symbol has further
references m connexion with the Love-goddess (Vide
R. B. Jr., U.). Sjn'ca is equated with the sixth
antediluvian king, Daonos, also called Da6s ; and
both these names reappear in the seventeenth Lunar
Asterism Kahlcah Dannu, ilu Damu (JV. A. I. A .
xlvi. No. 1, 1. 19), ' the Star of the Hero, i.e., the god
of the Sky-furrow.' This original hero of the sky-
furrow would be the Moon. Damu, Davu^ = Gk.

' Tlie Star-list of the Soutliern Figures in the Zodiac.
VII. — The Constellation of the Claws.

1. The bright-one of those at the end of the southern Claw —

a (2).

2. The one more-northerly than it and dimmer — /a (5) .

3. The bright-one of those at the end of the northern Claw —

/8 (2).

4. The one in front of it and dim — S (5).

5. The one in the middle of the southern Glaw — t^ (4).

6. The one in front of this on the same Claw — v^ (4).

7. The one in the middle of the northern Glaw — y (4).

8. The one behind it on the same Glaw — 6 (4).

Eight stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 2nd magnitude,
four of the 4th, two of the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around the Claws.

1. The foremost of the three more-northerly than the northern

Claw—^1 (6).

2. The southern-one of the two hindmost — 48 (4).

3. The northern-one of them — ^ Scorpionis ? (4).

4. The hindmost of the thi'ee between the Claws — X (6).

6. The northern of the two remaining and preceding-ones —

41 (5).
G. The southern-one of them — k (4).

7. The foremost of the three more-southerly than the southern

Glaw— 20 (3).

8. The more-northerly of the two remaining and hindmost-

ones— 39 (4).

9. The more-southerly of them — 40 (4).

Nine stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 3rd magnitude, five
of the 4th, two of the 5th, one of the 6th.'

Ill] THE iriPrAECI-IO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 6/

Xote.
The Scorpion, as noticed {Sup. p. 60), was, like
the Crah^ originally a symbol of Darkness, and,
when the law of kosmic harmony has been recog-
nized, the sun-slaying Scorpion is equally the
sun-guarding Scorpion. Thus, the wandering hero
Gilgames meets with gigantic solar guardians of this

type,

' Wlio daily guard the rising (sun).
Their crown was at the lattice of heaven,
Below Hades was their footing.
Scorpion-men guard its gate,

Burning with terribleness, and their appearance was death.
The greatness of their bulk overthrows the forests.
At the rising of the sun and the setting of the sun, they
guard the sun '

{Gilgames Cycle, Tablet ix. 3-9, ap. Sayce).

This Scorpion-pair, representing Darkness eastern
and western, is shown one on each side of an Altar-
censer ( = the Constellation the Altci r, reduplicated in
the Southern Altar, vide rnf. p. 112), guarding it
(Vide E.. B. Jr., C. E. A. Fig. xxi, p. 27). As the
huge size of Orion, i.e., that of the sun as compared
with the stars, is always insisted on, so the Scorpions
of darkness are of colossal size, infinitely greater
than the Oriun-sun. And this phase is faithfully
reproduced in Aratos : —

' Great Ormi, too, his advent [i.e., that of the Scorpioii] fears.
Content thee Artemis [ = Luna.] ! A tale of old
Tells how the strong Orion [ = Sol] seized thy robe.
But she forthwith another monster bade —
The Scorpion [^Darkness] . . . this, huger still,
His greatness slew since Artemis he chafed.
And, so, 'tis said that, when the Scorpion comes,
Oriun flies to iitmost end of earth ' (Phainoni. 636-41).
Thus, the original strife between the Orion-sun
and the Scorpion-darkness is astronomically redupli-

68 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

cated in a putting to flight of the stars of Orwn by the
constellational Scorpion. And this gigantic size of
the Scorpion is also reduplicated in the Zodiac, where
it occupied two Signs ; and thus gave rise to the
mistake of Servius (In Georgica, i. 33) that the
Chaldean Zodiac consisted of only eleven constella-
tions. It is interesting to notice that in The Egyptian
Booh of the Dead, cap. Ixxxvi. (ap. Renouf), the
' Scorpion-bird' is styled 'the daughter [i.e., mytho-
logically speaking, the 'successor'] of Ra' ('the
Sun '). So Tennyson, ' Darkness rises from the
fallen sun.'

This daily seizing of the dying western Sun by
the claws of the Scorjjion of darkness is redupli-
cated annually at the autumnal equinox, when the
feeble waning Sun of shortening days falls ever
earlier into his enemy's grasp. Agreeably with
this we find that Samas, the Sun-god, is the pre-
siding divinity of the seventh month (Sept.-Oct.),
called in Ak. Tul-hu ('the Holy Altar'); and that
the solar Gilgames 'sickens in the autumnal month
of [September] October, and not until he [like Orion]
has bathed in the waters of the eastern ocean does he
once more recover strength and brilliance with the
beginning of the new year ' (Sayce, Bah. Lit. p. 27).
The Euphratean astronomical abbreviation for the
Sign of the month is Blr, ' die alte Form fiir ud =
nCiru' (Licht. Strassmaier, Astronomisches aiis Bahylon,
p. 171); and we find on the monuments, amongst
other constellation-figures, a Lamp, below which,
a Scorpion, with large claws, almost touching it
(Vide R. B. Jr., H. D. Fig. Ixvii. p. 84). We further
find on a Euphratean gem (Vide R. B. Jr., G. E. A.
Fig. xvi. p. 23) a Scorpion holding a circular object

in] THE HlPrAECHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 69

in its claws. The stars in the Clair s form a dim
circle, representative of the waning Sun (Vide
K. B. Jr., Z. Fig. xii. p. 16); and the constellation
Ara, to which much mythic idea primarily connected
with the original zodiacal ^/ifa?- has become attached,
was represented as .circular (Vide Arat. Phainom.
440). With this seventh month of Tasritu-Tisi-i was
also connected the building of the famous Tower of
Babel, said to have 'been the special work of Sar-tuli-
elli ('the Iving-of-the-Holy-mound '), and its erection
was placed in the month Tisri at the autumnal
equinox' (Sayce, Bab. Lit. p. 32; vide Rel. And.
Bahs. pp. 406-7). It was a Zikkuratu^ with seven
steps, a circumstance connected with planetary
symbolism ; and this style of building is reduplicated
in the oldest Egyptian pyramids, e.g.., the pj'ramid
of Saqqara, which had ' seven steps like the Baby-
lonian towers' (Birch, Egypt from the Earliest Times,
p. 25), a statement Avhich I verified by careful
examination on the spot. The circumstance, one
amongst many such, supplies a most interestmg
illustration of the fact that the Egyptian civilization
was mainly Euphratean in origin. But, in immediate
connexion with our present subject, it is to be remem-
bered that whatever , else these temple-towers may
have been or represented, they were also altars, when

' in the misty morning of the world
Rose Babylon in towers; and every tower
An altar flaming to the answering stars !'

(R. B. Jr., Tellis and Kleoleia, 1657-9).

This, or a similar, Zikkurat is shown, amongst
other figures of the Host of Heaven, upon the Stone
of Merodach Baladan I. ; and Tab. 81-7-6, 102, gives
the asterism Entenamasluv (' the Lord-of-the-Foun-

70 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

dation, the Hero-of-the-Brickword '), which, as the
twenty-second Lunar Mansion = 20 Lihrae and the
stars adjoining (Yide R. J5. Jr., E. S. E., Part V.,
p. 31), as specially connected with the month Tisri.
From the foregoing considerations it clearly appears
that the original Sign of the seventh month, and
which of course would be a ' diurnal ' Sign, as the
' diurnal ' and ' nocturnal ' Signs alternate, Avas the
Sun figured as a lamp, light, flame connected with
an Altar =^ the, Flaming Altar ^ held by the Claics of
the Scorpion. Agreeably with this we find in Tah. K.
12,340 mention made of the Kakkab Ni-du-vh or
I-duh (' the Lofty-altar '), in connexion with several
constellations of that quarter of the heavens, amongst
which are Girtab (' the Scorpion ') and Zihdnituv
(' the Clans '), which latter, as noticed by Prof.
Hommel and others = the Arab Accuhanai/ ('the
Two-claws ' = a, jS Librae). Of these a Lihrae is
Zuhen-el-genu-hi ('the Southern-claw ') and ^Librae
Zuben-el-chemali (' the Northern-claw '). Thus, in
Tab. K. 2894, Ob. 1. 7, we read : — Luhat ina lihhi
hakkahi Zibdmti izzaz (' The Planet [lit. ' Old-sheep,'
I.e.., Jupiter'] in the midst of the constellation of the
Clau-s is fixed '). The expression KaJdab Tsalmu
ZihMtuv ( W. A. T. II. Ivii. 49, ' The dark constella-
tion of the Claws') is exactly paralleled by the
statement of Aratos, that ' the huge Clans [which
must have been out of proportion with respect to the
Scorpion as a whole,] are scant of light and nothing
fair ' (Phainom. 89-90). In IV. A. I. IIL Ivii. Xo. 6,
1. 60, we find the (Ak.) 3Ii Zi-ba-an-na (' Dark Life-
maker-of-heaven') the seventh and last of the seven
pairs of Mdsic (' Twin '-stars). Tlie Altar, however,
dropped out of the representation, and evidently at a

in] THE niPPAECHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 7 1

somewhat early period. Certainly when the use of
the Sign had first reached the shores of the Aigaion
the Clatvs alone remained (For further reference to
the Chelai, vide R. B. Jr., L. K. 0. sec. xvi. ; Z. sec.
vii. ; C.E.A. sec. viii.). The Balance or Scales
[Libra), which it will be observed is in itself neither
diurnal nor nocturnal, is the only one of the zodiacal
Signs not Euphratean in origin, having been imported
from Egypt, and representing originally the balance
of the sun at the horizon between the Upper and
Under-worlds ; and secondarily ' the eqiaality of the
days and nights at the equinoxes.' So Achilleus
Tatios, cir. a.d. 475, in a Fragment on the Fhaino-

mena, speaks of Ta? X7;A,a?, ra? KaXovfJ,eva<i 'vjt'

'AoyvrrTicov Zvybv (Ap. Petavius, Uranologion, p. 168)
^= Jugum, the beam of the balance.

VIII. — ' The Constellation op the Scorpion.

1. The northern of the three bright-ones in the face — jS (3).

2. The middle-one of them — 8 (3).

3. The more-southerly of the three — ;7r (3).

4. The one still more-southerly than this on one of the feet —

p(3).

5. The northern of the two lying-beside-each-other by the

most-northerly of the bright-ones — v (4).

6. The southern-one of them — wi (4).

7. The foremost of the three bright-ones in the body — o- (3).

8. The middle-one of them also reddish-yellow, called Equal-

to- Ares— a (2).

9. The hindmost of the three — t (3) .

10. The foremost of the two below them, as if over the last foot

-13 (5).

11. The hindmost of them — ' Piazzi xvi. 31 ' (o).

12. The one in the first joint from the body — e (3).

13. The one after this in the second joint — /a (3).

14. The northem-one of the double-star in the third joint —

^1 (4).

15. The more-southerly-one of the double-star — ^^ (4).

16. The one after this in the fourth joint — rj (3).

72 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

17. The one after this in the fifth joint— 6l (3).

18. The one still after this in the sixth joint — t (3).

19. The one in the seventh joint, the one next the sting — k (3).

20. The hindmost of the two in the sting — A. (3) .

21. The foremost of them — v (4).

Twenty-one stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 2nd magnitude,
thirteen of the 3rd, five of the 4th, two of the 5th.
The UnformeJ -stars around it.

1. The one after the sting, nebulous — (nebulous).

2. The foremost of the two north of the sting — 45 Serpentarii

(5).

3. The hindmost of them — 3 Sagittarii? (5).

Three stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 5th magnitude,
one nebulous.'

Xote.
Few asterisms and constellations are more promi-
nent and important in the Euphratean scheme than
Girtab (lit. ' Seizer-and-stinger'), ' the Scorpion.' It
originally appears as the twenty-seventh Mansion in
the lunar Zodiac (Vide W. A. I. V. xlvi. No. 1, 1. 31),
there consisting of the stars 6, i, k, X, v Scorpionis ;
for it is always to be remembered that the lunar
Zodiac was quite distinct from the solar Zodiac, by
which it was to a great extent early superseded.
The name Girtab, adopted by the framers of the
solar Zodiac, was then applied to the present
constellation Scorjno, which was also at times
called Gir-anna (' Scorpion-of-heaven,' Tab. K. 4195).
The Euphratean astronomical abbreviation is Gir.
We possess three Fragments of the archaic Euphra-
tean planisphere [Tablets Sm. 162; 81-7-27, 94;
and 83-1-18, 608), from which I have been able to
reconstruct it; and it is somewhat singular that
Girtab appears on all three. The recorded observa-
tions of the constellation are very numerous. Thus
we read, — Kakkab Zalhat-anu ana IcaJckab Girtab
dikhu {W. A. 1. III. liii. No. 1 , Ob. 1. 2-1. ' The star

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAK-LIST. 73

Star-of-Death [i.e., Mars'] the constellation of the
Scorpion faces '). There is a particular connexion
between the ill-omened planet Mars^ the star of the
Hades-god Ner-gal (' the Great-hero '), and the ill-
omened constellation Scorpio, which latter, as it
was connected with Nerra or Ner (' the Strong-one.'
Prof. Sayce regards Nerra as ' the personification of
death,' Bel. Ancf. Bahs. p. 195), so in Classical times
it became one of the ' Houses ' of Ares and of Mars
in their planetary aspect. The ' red star ' (Ak.
Simiit) JIdrs, amongst whose Euphratean names
were Khul (' the Evil '), llamna, a word at times
meaning ' Nobody,' and Xu-7nia. (' That-which-is-
not '), ' referring to the fact that Mars recedes from
the Earth until it is almost invisible ' (Sayce, in
Trans. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. iii. 171. Amongst the
Sabaeans, Mars was considered to be ' the god of
the blind,' Thos. Stanley, Hist, of the Chaldaich
Philosophy, 1662, p. 87. Cf Gh.wo\so\m, Die Ssahier,
ii. 24, etc.), has his reduplication and analogue in
the red and unlucky star Az/ra/ai]? {Cor Scorpionis),
' the Equal-to-Ares,' called amongst the Turko-Tatars
Zejan-jolduz ('Scorpion-star.' The Turko - Tatar
jol = Ak. Zal, in Zal-bat, sup.). This star is
named in ' central Asia and Persia Kericanhush, the
Svavediofofer of caravans, because as long as the
caravans observe its rising with Orion in the morning,
robbers and death follow the stations ' ( Lacouperie,
Western Origin, p. 289). And this circumstance
exactly explains a curious remark concerning Antares
and Orton ' in the first printed edition of the Almagest,
which is that published in Latin by Liechtenstein at
Venice in 1515,' and which ' is derived from Arabic
sources ' (E. B. Knobel, Note on the Descriptions of

74 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

two Stars ill Ptolemys Catalogue, in Monthhi Notices
of the Royal Astron. Soc, Vol. xlv. No. 3). The
descriptions are as follows : —

' 8. Scorpio. Media earnm quae tendit ad rapinam quae
dicitur Cor Scorpionis.

2. Orion. Lucida quae est super humerum dextrum et ipsa
tendit ad rapinam.'

This ' tendens ad rapinam ' on the part of these
two stars, a statement which puzzled Baily and
others, thus receives its explanation in the dangers
to which caravans Avere exposed from robbers. Thus
at times an actual historical explanation is the key
to a bit of stellar phraseology. But the complicated
network of idea which Time Aveaves about stars and
constellations will be not merelv clear but also
luminous if Ave keep in mind the simple natural-
phenomena basis of the Avhole. Darkness is closely
connected with Avinter, cold and death ; the Scorpion
of Darkness is therefore the Scorpion of autumn,
when darkness, cold and death specially advance
upon the Avorld. Speaking of Tisri, the month of
the Claws., 'Mr. Wm. Simpson observes, ' The cere-
monies in almost every part of the world at that
period of the year, as nearly eA-eryone knows who
has studied the subject, Avere connected with death '
(Trans. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. ix. 327, note). And
this phase of the Scorpion as the Death -dealer is
exactly illustrated in the famihar Mithraic repre-
sentation, Avhere, in hundreds of instances, the
creature seizes the genitalia of the dying Bull, the
representative of the vigour and of the results of
sun-and-earth-life, and slain by his master the
Sun-god, as the latter hastens on his inevitable
course throughout the year.

in] THE HIPPAKCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 75

As we find the Euphratean Scorpion-st&r amongst
the Turko-Tatars, so we naturally tincl it in the
Persian scheme. The twentieth Persian lunar
Mansion is Vaiiant (= 0, i, k, \, v Scor2J/onis)^ ' the
Stinger' (Avestic rem, 'to strike,' -ant pres. part,
ending). ' The VaiiQut Yasht is a prayer addressed
to the star Vaiicuit, by which the Dasturs under-
stand the Milky Way ' (Haug, Essays, p. 217).
The basis of this error, which illustrates the location
of the asterism, is that the Via Lactea runs through
Scorpio and the lunar Girtah. Vanant is one of the
four chief asterisms in the Persian stellar scheme, an
illustration of the original great importance of the
Scorpion. Now we come to a most interesting piece
of ritual, the meaning of which its votaries have
lost for ages. ' When a sheep is slaughtered . . .
the testes are for the star Va)iand' {Shayast Ln-
Shuyast, xi. 4, ap. E. W. West). Thus is the
Scorjyioji-stav Vanant linked and identified with the
Scorpion which seizes the testes of the Mithraic Bull ;
and this creature appearing in a stellar aspect as the
Euphratean Gir-anna, is itself a symbolical redupli-
cation of Darkness, the monarch of winter, cold and
death, alike in the earth, in the sepulchre, and in
the Under-world ; where Nergal, whose name was
punned into Ne(r)-uru-gal ('the Strong-one-of-the-
Great-City,' i.e., Hades. Vide Sayce, Eel. And. Bahs.
p. 195), reigned enthroned in awful majesty. As in
the case of Taurus., the natural stellar configuration
of the constellation, lent itself surprisingly to the
expression of the symbol. Scorpio is, of course,
a ' nocturnal ' Sign. Antares, under the Ak. name
of Dar-Lugal (' The Evil-one, the King.' Cf the
Turko-Tatar root tar, whence come words meaning

76 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

' to be evil,' ' angry,' etc.), forms the twenty-fourth
lunar Asterism, the patron-divinity of which is
Lugal-tudda ('the Lusty-king'), who is identical
with Zu (a name meaning 'a stormy-wind,' also
a 'kind of vulture'), 'the divine Storm-bird',
stealer of the lightning (Vide Sayce, Bel. Anct. Bahs.
p. 293 et seq.). The ideograph which is rendered
Gir, pictorially represented a ' blade,' ' sting ' or
' pointed tail' ; and the word means ' to strike,'
' scorpion,' ' plough ' (the blade of which strikes
through the earth), and ' lightning,' ' the torment of
a scorpion when he striketh a man ' being compared
with the burning of lightning. Hence the connexion
between the red Sco^-jjion-star Antares, and the
Lightning-god. its patron-divinity. Antares is
equated with the seventh antediluvian king Euedor-
anchos = Ak. Dar-an-hlm (' the Evil-one, the Heaven-
bird ') with a prosthetic vowel. The importance
of the original Girtab-st&rs is shown incidentally
by a Semitic name for them having been preserved
in Hesychios : — Aj}o-o? [ = Sem. Lesath, ictus
Scorpii.J o ev Ty P'^X^'' '^°^ ^KopTTLOv Xa/XTrpo^ dcrr-np
(For further reference to Scorpio^ vide R. B. Jr.,
L. K. 0. sec. xvii. ; Z. sec. viii.). The overthrow of
the Sun by the Scorpion-darkness is excellently and
unwittingly illustrated by Ovid in his account of the
hapless fate of Phaeton : —

' Est locus, in geminos ubi brachia concavat arcus
Scorpios ; et cauda, flexisque utrinque lacertis,
Porrigit in spatium signorum membra duorum.
Huno puer ut nigri madidum sudore veneni
Viilnera curvata minitantem ouspide vidit ;
Mentis inops, gelida formidine lora remisit '

{iJelam. ii. 195-200).

Ill] TIIK HIPPARCHO -PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. ']']

IX. — ' The Constellation op the Archer.

1. The one at the point of the arrow — y (3).

2. The one at the grip of the left hand— S (3).

8. The one in the southern part of the bow — e (3).

4. The more-sontherly of those in the northern part of the

bow— X (3).

•5. The more-northerly of those at the end of the bow — ju (4).

C. The one at the left shoulder — o- (3).

7. The one in front of this towards the arrow — (ji (4).

8. The nebalons and double-star at the eye — v^ (neb.).

9. The foremost of the three in the head — i^ (4).

10. The middle-one of them — o (4).

11. The hindmost of the three — tt (4).

12. The more-sontherly of the three in the northern part of the

martial-cloak — 43 (5).

13. The middle-one of them — pi (4).

14. The northern-one of the three — v (4).

15. The dim-one following the three — 54 (6).

16. The more-northerly of the two at the southern part of the

martial-cloak — 61 (5).

17. The more-southerly of them — 56 (6).
IS. The one at the right shoulder — )(^ (5).

19. The one at the bend of the right arm — 52 (4).

20. Of the three in the back, the one towards the broad of the

back — {j/ (5).

21. The middle-one of them, and towards the shoulder-blade —

T (4).

22. The remaining-one, and below the armpit — ^ (3).

23. The one at the fore and left ancle — P (2).

24. The one at the knee of the same leg — a (2).

25. The one at the fore and right ancle — tj (3).

26. The one at the left thigh— 6 ? (3).

27. The one at the right hind leg — i (3).

28. Of the four in the growth of the tail, the foremost on the

northern side — w (5).

29. The hindmost on the northern side — 60 (5).

30. The foremost on the southern side — 59 (5).

31. The hindmost on the southern side — 62 (5).
Thirty-one stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 2nd magnitude,

nine of the 3rd, nine of the 4th, eight of the 5th, two of the 6th,
one nebulous.'

Noie.
The ' diurnal ' Sign Sagittarius, itself reduplicated

78 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

in the southern constellation, Centaurus, is a redupli-
cation of Sol radiate; and appears in several instances
on the monuments in form very similar to that
Avhich it bears on a modern celestial globe (Vide
E. B. Jr., C. E. A. Fig. xxxiii. p. 38). From Tab. Sm.
1G2, a Fragment of the Eui)hratean. Planisphere
(Vide R. B. Jr., E. S. B. Part 11. Fig. i, p. 16), we
see that its Ak. name was a form which has been ren-
dered Zy^^?(ca^aJa(the 'Light-of-the-White-face.' Sayce),
or Udijudua (Pinches), the form which I have adopted,
and which I understand as meaning ' Smiting-sun-
face.' The Ak. name is rendered by the As. Yumu
nahri ( W. A. I. X. xlvi. No. 1, 1. 43. ' Day-of-dawn,'
= ' Dawn-of-day ') ; and the idea is the Rising-sun
shooting out his arrowy rays across heaven. Just
as a modern constellation is, in some instances,
divided into sub-constellations, e.g., the Malus, Vela,
Puppls and Carina of Avjio, so in W. A. I. III. Ivii.
No. 5, 1. !). we find Udj/udila divided into (1) Kumani
(' the Dusky-part '); (2) Ak. Ega, As. Agu (' Crown '),
Uzzu, (' Glory ')= the bright upper forepart of the
constellation, elsewhere called Papihah (' Winged-
fire-head'), whence the astronomical abbreviation
of the Sign Pa ; and (3) Siigah (' the Left-hand '),
the stars in whicli asterism would be Nos. 1 and 2 in
the above List (Vide R. B. Jr., E. S. P. Part IV. Fig.
iii. p. 12). In W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. G, UdgtuMa and
Papilsak are both mentioned in the second Group of
Sevens formed by the seven Lu-masi, a phrase which
originally signified ' Sheep-of-the-Iiero ' {i.e., the Sun,
according to Prof. Sayce), and afterwards meant
' Twin-sheep ' or ' Twin-oxen.' Regarded in this
narrower aspect, as a pair of twin-stars,' Udgudila
(probably) = 6 and a Sag. and Papilsak (probably)

IIlj THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 79

= X and jj, Sag. PapiJsak was close to the ecliptic,
for in W. A. I. III. liii. No. 1, Ob. 1. 14 we read:^
Luhat-guttav ina lib kaikah Papihak nazuz (' Jupiter
in the midst of the asterism of the V/inged-fire-head
is fixed '). There are few constellations in which the
figures of the monuments and the descriptions in the
Tablets show a closer connexion between Euphratean
and Classical forms than in the case of Sagittarius.
The wing of the Euphratean Archer has become the
' martial cloak ' {List, No. 12) of the Ptolemaic
figure; and this garment, in a modern representation
before me, is apparently flying in the wind in a
manner exactly similar to the wing of the original
figure on the Sippara boundary-stone.

The reader will bear in mind that in these Notes
to the Hipparcho-Ptolemy Star-list, I am merely
inserting such detail as may enable him to understand
cleai'ly the rationale of the constellation-figures ; and
am not in any way dealing with them exhaustively.
(For further references to Sagittarius^ vide E. B. Jr.,
Z. sec. ix. ; E. JR. S. Part iv. pp. 10-15 ; C. E. A.
pp. 37-8).

X. — ' The Constellation of Capricorn.

1. The northern of the three in the hindmost horn — a^ (6).

2. The middle-one of them — v (6).

3. The southern-one of the three — /3 (3).

4. The one at the end of the foremost horn — ^ (6).
6. The southern of the three in the muzzle — o (6).

6. The foremost of the two remaining- ones — ir (6).

7. The hindmost of them — p (6).

8. The foremost of the two under the right eye — o- (5).

9. The more-northerly of the two in the neck — t~ (6).

10. The more-southerly of them — v (5).

11. The one below the right hip-joint — xj/ (4).

12. The one at the bent left knee — w (4).

13. The one at the left shoulder — 24 (4).

14. The foremost of the two together under the belly — ^ (4).

8o PKIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

15. The hindmost of them — 36 (5).

16. The hindmost of the three in the middle of the body — 4^ (5).

17. The more-southerly of the two remaining and preceding

ones — X ('5)-

18. The more-northerly of them — r] (5).

19. The foremost of the two in the back — 9 (4).

20. The hindmost of them— t (4).

21. The foremost of the two in the southern part of the fishy-

spine — •? (4).

22. The hindmost of them — k (4).

23. The foremost of the two beside the tail — y (3).

24. The hindmost of them— 8 (3).

2-5. The foremost of the four at the northern part of the tail —

42 (4).
23. The southern of the three remaining-ones — fi (5).
27. The middle-one of them — X (5).

23. The northern-one of them, and at the end of the tail — 46 (5) .
Twenty-eight stars in all, whereof four (are) of the 3rd
magnitude, nine of the 4th, nine of the 5th, six of the 6th.'

Note.

The Akkadal called the tenth month ' the Cave of
the rising ' (of the Sun), and its ' nocturnal ' Sign
Cajjricornus, the solar Goat, a reduplication of the
solar Ram, represents the Sun rising from the great
deep of the Under-world, from ' the blind cave of
eternal night' (Shakspere), and hence a demi-fish.
The Nocturnal-sun is also closely connected inideawith
the feeble infant sun of winter, born at the solstice,
the Christmas Yule (= Old Norse hjid, ' wheel ' — of
the sun) ; and it Avas in accordance with the principle
of adapting Christian to Pagan forms that, as
S. Chrjsostom {Homily xxxi.) informs us, the birthday
of Christ was arbitrarily fixed on Dec. 25. The
Akkadian goat-god Uz was a solar divinity who, clad
in goat-skins, presided over the revolution of the
Sun ; and the Goat, a sacred animal alike in the
Valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile, equally appears

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 8 1

ill a solar connexion with the Vedic Piishan, the
Semitic Dionysos, and the Norse Thorr. The
Capricorn of the Babylonian monuments is, to all
intents and purposes, identical in foi-m with the
Capricorn of a modern almanac ; and Muna-hha
(' the Goat-fish') forms the last of the Lunar Mansions
(TF. A. I. V. xlvi. No. 1, 1. 38). Prof. Hommel
{Proc. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. April, 1886, p. 119) has
shown that the patron- divinity of the solar hero
Gilgames was the Moon-god, who bore the title of
Amar-tudcla (' the Lusty-bull '). Agreeably with
this,we find the eighth antediluvian Babylonian king,
Amempsinos (= Ak. Amar-sin), ' the Bull-moon,'
equated with the star Algedi ('the Goat,' a)- and a"
Cap.^ Ak. L7i, Bab. Enzu), and thus ruling over the
nocturnal sun. The ninth antediluvian king also falls,
in his stellar aspect, within this Sign, Opartes = Ak.
Ubara-tutu), ' the Servant-of-Death,' i.e., the Setting-
sun, being equated with Deneb Algedi (' the-Tail-of-
the-Goat,' B Cap.). Various interesting notices of
Capricorn and parts of it occur in the Tablets. Thus
in W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. 7, sec. 4, we read: —

1. Kakhah Dil-hat ina araJch Sahadhi nip-kha ;

' The-planet Venus in the montli Sebat a-rising (mates ;)

3. Venus at the tails (ina zumbi) at sunrise is-seen.'

The scribe is apparently referring to the closely
adjoining tails of Capricorn and Piscis Austrcdis.

4. ' The third day Venus on the horn (of the Goat-fish)

5. Rises. In the month Sebat, on the first day on the horn

of the constellation of the Tolce (Ak. Sutul, As. Niru)

6. It-crosses.

8. Kakhab Uz saku-sa-risi kakkabi Muna-kha.

The-star of-the-ffoai^the-top-of-the-head of-the-constella-
tion oi-the-Goat-fish.
8a. The constellation of the yo7i;e:= the Goaf-fish.'

6

82 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

The reader will observe that the insertion of
explanatory glosses occurs in the Tablets ; and, that,
as we might anticipate, the same star, asterism or
constellation frequently had various names. The
Yoke appears to have been a popular name for the
constellation of the Goat-fish {Capricorn), and to
have been suggested by the configuration of its three
principal stars a, /3, and S, (Vide K. B. Jr., E. S. B.
Part i. p. 20); just as in Classical times Orion was
popularly called Gock's-foot.

In W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. 7, sec. 1, we read : —

1, 2. Jlu Sin, ilu 8ar-ner-ra, ilu-Gal-lam-ta-ud-du-a ina bi-rit
Icarni JcaMahi. ' The-god the-Moon, the god King-of-the-
Ecliptic (lit. 'Yoke'), (and) the god the Bull-of-the-
liising-sun close to the horn of the constellation (of the
Goat-fisli are).

3. (They and) the star of the Ooat {Us) are seen, and on the
third day they are fixed.

5. The god Sarnerra and the god Gallamta

6. (are) the god Guttav ('Bull-of-heaven,' i.e., Jupiler) and the

god Zalbat' (Mars, vide sup. p. 72).
The astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is Sah, = As. Sahu
('Ibex,' 'rough-goat.' For further reference to Capricornus,
vide R. B. Jr., L. K. 0. sec. xix. ; Z. sec. x. ; 30 S. pp. 7-15 ;
E. S. J?. Part i. pp. 20-25 ; Part v. p. 38).

XI. — 'The Constellation oi? the Water-ponrer.

1. The one at the head of the Water-pourer- — 25 (5).

2. The brighter of the two in the right shoulder — a (3).

3. The dimmer-one under it — o (6).

4. The one in the left shoulder — ^ (3).

6. The one below it in the back, as if under the armpit — ^ (5) .

6. The hindmost of the three in the left arm on the garment —

v{4).

7. The middle-one of them — /x (4).

8. The foremost of the three — e (4).

9. The one in the right arm — y (3).

10. The northern-one of the three at the end of the right hand

— TT (3).

11. The foremost of the two i-emaining and northern-ones — t, (3).

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 83

12. The hindmost of them—); (3).

13. The foremost of the two together in the Urn in the right

hand— (9(4).

14. The hindmost of them — p (5).

15. The one at the right buttock — o- (5).

16. The southern of the two in the left buttock — < (4).

17. The more-northerly of them— 37 (6).

18. The more-southerly of the two in the right leg — 8 (3).

19. The more-northerly of them and under the bend of the leg

-T' (4).

20. The one in the back of the left thigh— 53 (5).

21. The more-southern of the two in the bend of the left leg—

v(5).

22. The more-northerly of those under the knee — 35 ? (by.

23. The foremost of those at the flow of the Water from the

hand— 67 ? (4).

24. The next one south of the aforesaid — \ (4).

25. The one next to this after the bend (of the stream) — 83 (4).

26. The next one to this — <j> (4).

27. The one south of this in the bend — x C^)-

28. The more-northerly of the two south of this — tjA (4).

29. The more-southerly of the two — ij/" (4).

30. The one apart from them towards the south by itself — 94 (5) .

31. The foremost of the two together after them — wi (5).

32. The hindmost of them — w- (5).

33. The northern of the three in the following group — 103 (5).

34. The middle-one of the three— 106 ? (5).

35. The hindmost of them— 108 ? (5).

36. The northern of the three in like manner in a row — 98 (4).

37. The middle-one of them— 99 (4).

38. The more-southerly of the three — 101 (4).

39. The foremost of the three in the remaining group — 86 (4).

40. The more-southerly of the two remaining-ones — 89 (4).

41. The more-northerly of them — 88 (4).

42. The last (star) of the Water and at the mouth of the

Southern Fish — a Pis. Aust. (1).
Forty-two stars in all, whereof one (is) of the l.st magnitude,
nine of the 3rd, eighteen of the 4th, thirteen of the 5th, one of

the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around him.

1. The foremost of the three following in the bend of the Water

—2 Ceti (4).

2. The more-northerly of the two remaining-ones — 6 Ceti (4).

6 *

84 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

3. The more-southerly of them — 7 Ceti (4).

Three stars in all, greater than the 4th magnitude.'

Note.
The ' diurnal ' Sign Aquarius is a reduplication of
tlie Sun of storm and rain, a concept like tliat of the
Vedic Indra, the Ak. Mermer ('the Very -glorious')
and Uras ('the Veiled'), Sem. Ramanu ('the
Exalted.' So H^sychios, Rliamas : o v^LaTo<; 0e6<;.),
Heb. (through false punctuation) Rimmon.
' Babylonia is still reduced to an impassable marsh by
the rains of January' (Prof. Sayce, in Trans. Soc.
Bib. Archaeol. iii. 164) ; and the kosmogonic legend
connected with the month, and related in the eleventh
Tablet of the Gilgames Epic, is that of the Deluge. The
watery part of the celestial sphere occupied by the
Z^oZpAm, the Z>emz-sea-Aor5e, just risingfrom the springs
of Ocean, the Goat -Jish, the Water-pourer^the Southern
Fish, the zodiacal Fishes, and the Sea-monster, formed
in the Euphratean scheme ' the Region of Ea,' the Fish-
god, and Lord-of-the-Deep. Xisouthros (= Ak. Zi-
susru, 'Spirit of heaven.' Sayce. = Ak. Xasisadra, 'the
Reverential.' Geo. Smith), the tenth and last of the
antediluvian Babylonian kings is equated with Skat
(' the Leg,' h Aquarii), also called Sahib ('the Pourer')^
a proper star for the Deluge-hero, whose name is also
given as Sisithros and Sisythes, which latter is the
corrected reading of S/fu^i?? {Peri tes Syries Theou,
xii.). The astronomical abbreviation of the Sign is
Gu (' the Urn') ; cf. Yenissei Kii (' a Vessel '), Ancient
Chinese Yu (' a Vase full '), Tchagatai Ka-h, Turkic
Qa-b, Kottic Ha-m, etc. The Ak. Gu = As. Ka,
the first meaning of which is unknown, but which
I would compare with the Heb. ka-d ('pitcher,'
'jar'). The asterism Gu.i which only included a

Ill] THE HIPPAKCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 85

part of the Ptolemaic Aquarius^ appears in the form
Gu-la, in which la is the emphatic prolongation, but
also supplies a punning reference to the goddess
Giila ('the Grreat'), who was identified with the
goddess Ba-hu {= Heb. hohu^ ' wasteness,' Gen. i. 2),
the Phoenician Baau. Bahu = the Ak. Gurra
(' the Watery-deep '), the waters of the abyss in their
original chaotic state; and is thus suitably connected
with Aquarius.

In W.A.I. III. Iviii. No. 1, sec. 1, we read: —

2. KaJvlcah Gut-tav ina Tcalehdbi Ou-la yu-dan-nat.

' The-planet Jupiter in the-asterism of-tlie-Z7r» lingers.'
4. 'JTZit Out-tav ina hahhabi Gu-la ana 'ilu Sah-us dilihii.

' The-god Jupiter in the-asterism of-tlie-Z7rM to tlie-god
Saturn (is) opposite.'
(For further references to Aquarius, vide R. B. Jr., Z. sec. xi. ;
B. S. B. Part ii. Fig. ii., p. 24 ; Part iv. pp. 7, 19-21).

XII. — 'The Constellation op the Fislies.

1. The one in the mouth of the foremost Fish — P (4) .

2. The more-southerly of the two in its head — y (4).

3. The more-northerly of them — 7 (4).

4. The foremost of the two in the back — 6 (4).

5. The hindmost of them — i (4).

6. The foremost of the two in the belly — « (4).

7. The hindmost of them— X (4).

8. The one in the tail of the same Fish — m (4).

9. The first from the tail of those down his Gord — 41 (6).

10. The hindmost of them— 51 (6).

11. The foremost of the three bright-ones in a row — 8 (4).

12. The middle-one of them — e (4).
1.3. The hindmost of the three— t (4).

14. The more-northerly of the two small-ones below them in

the bend— 80 (6).

15. The more-southerly of them — 89 (6).

16. The foremost of the three after the bend — ^ (4).

17. The middle-one of them — v (4).

18. The hindmost of the three— 1(4).

19. The one at the knot of the two Cords — a (3).

86 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

20. The foremost from the knot of those in the northern Gord —

o (4).

21. The southern of the three after each other in a row — ir (5).

22. The middle-one of them— i; (3).

23. The northern-one of the three and at the end of the tail —

P (4).

24. The more-northerly of the two iathe mouth of the hindmost

Fish-~82 (6).

25. The southern -one of them — t (5).

26. The hindmost of the three little-ones in the head — 68 (6).

27. The middle-one of them— C7 (6).

28. The foremost of the three— G5 (6).

29. The foremost of the three at the spine of the back, after

the one at the bent-ai'm of Andromede — \jA (4).

30. The middle-one of them— i/^^ (4).

31. The hindmost of the three— i/." (4).

32. The more-northerly of the two in the belly — v (4).

33. The more-southerly of them — <jj (4).

34. The one in the hindmost spine near the tail — x (4)-
Thirty-four stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 3rd magni-
tude, twenty-two of the 4th, three of the 5th, seven of the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around them.

1. The foremost of the two northern stars of the quadrilateral

below the foremost Fish — 27 (4).

2. The hindmost of them— 29 (4).

3. The foremost on the southern side — 30 (4).

4. The hindmost on the southern side — 33 (4).
Four stars in all, of the 4th magnitude.

The stars of the Zodiac itself (are) 346 (in number), whereof
5 (are) of the 1st magnitude, 9 of the 2nd, 64 of the 3rd,
133 of the 4th, 105 of the 5th, 27 of the 6th, 3 nebulous, and
besides this number, the Tress.'

Xofe.
This dark and ' nocturnal ' Sign, originally Pisciv,
for ' the double month Adar and Ve-Adar would be
the origin of the double Pisces ' (Sayce, in Trans.
Soc. Bib. Archaeol. iii. 166), is a reduplication of the
Nocturnal-sun, the Fish-sun (Cf. Apollon Delphinios)
concealed in the waters, like the Vedic S^rya, who
was ' drawn by the gods from the ocean where he

hi] the hippaecho-ptolemy star-list. 87

was hidden' {Rig-Veda, X. Ixii. 7), and thus
brought forth to restore again the face of the earth.
For the archaic myth or legend attached to the
month is that of the Resumption of the Cultivation
of the Earth after the catastrophe of the Flood.
The Ak. name of the month is Se-kisil (' the Sowing-
of-Seed ') ; and the connexion of the Sign with this
sowing finds a last echo in the statement of the
modern astrologer that it is ' exceedingly fruitful
and luxuriantly productive.' The solar Marduk,
who in a planetary phase is Jupiter, in this particular
month is reduplicated in a stellar phase as ' the Star
of the Fish of the god Ea ' {W. A. I. III. liii. No. 2,
1. 12), the latter divinity being the lord of this watery
region, an interesting indirect illustration of the fact
that the original Fish connected with the month was
the Sun. The ' Cord ' (Ak. Dur, As. Riksu) men-
tioned above reappears at all events in late Tablets
as Rihsu Nuni (' the Cord of the Fishes.' Vide
Epping and Strassmaier, in Zeit. filr As. Dec. 1892,
p. 224:). The As. Riksu also reappears in the Arabic
Rischa, the name of a Fiscium, ' the tail-connecting
link ' of Aratos {Phainom. 245) and translated Nudus
in Cicero's Aratos. The astronomical abbreviation
of the Sign is Zib, a word probably connected with
the Turko-Tatar root sub, suv, su, ' water,' ' lustre,'
Avhence come such words as the Uigur sub, Tchagatai
su, suj, Koibal-Karagass sug, su, Tshuwash su, siva,
siv, ' water.' The Water ('TScop), as a name applied
to this part of the heavens, appears in Aratos
{Fhainom. 389-99). The 'Chaldaeans' called the
Northern Fish a 'tunny' (Vide m/. p. 177). The
connexion between ' water ' and ' lustre ' is obvious,
and, in further illustration of the meaning of Zib,

88 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [TH

we find the goddess Dilhat ('the Ancient-proclaimer '
— of morn and even, := Venus) called Zih-zik
(IF. A. I. II. xlviii. 51. ' Bright-destiny,' lit. ' the
Lustrous, the Destiny'). Late classical writers
connect Venus (Aphrodite) and Cupid with piscine
forms in Babylonian waters (Vide inf. p. 115) '\"enus,
of course, here = the female Dagon, Derketo (Vide
inf. p. 188).

' The Star-list of the remaining Southern Figures outside the

Zodiac.
I. — The Constellation op the Sea-monster.

1. The one at the end of the nostril — X (4).

2. Of the three in the muzzle the hindmost at the end of the

jaw-bone — a (3).

3. The middle-one of them and in the middle of the mouth —

y (3).

4. The foremost of the three and at the under-jaw — S (3).

5. The one at the eye-brow and eye — v (4).

6. The one more-northerly than this, as if at the hair — ^ (4).

7. The one in front of these, as if at the mane — i^ (4).

8. The northern-one on the foremost side of the quadrilateral

in the chest — p (4).

9. The southern-one of the foremost side — o- (4).

10. The northern-one of the hindmost side— e (4).

11. The southern-one of the hindmost side — tt (3).

12. The middle-one of the three in the body — r (3).

13. The southern-one of them — v (4).

14. The northern-one of the three — ^ (3).

15. The hindmost of the two towards the root-of-the-tail — 9 (3).

16. The foremost of them — 17 (5).

17. The northern-one of the hindmost side of the quadrilateral

in the root-of-the-tail — (j>^ (5).

18. The southern-one of the hindmost side — <^' (5).

19. The northern-one of the foremost side — (j>^ (5).

20. The southern-one of the foremost side — </>' (5).

21 . Of the two at the ends of the forks of the tail, the one at

the northern fork — i (3).

22. The one at the end of the southern fork of the tail — /3 (3).
Twenty-two stars in all, -whereof ten (are) of the 3rd magni-
tude, eight of the 4th, four of the 5th.'

in] THE HIPPARCIIO- PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 89

Note.
Cetus {Kt'tiis)^ tlie Sen -monster^ which appears on
the coins of Itanos (Vide inf. p. 189), is in origin the
Bab. Mummu-Tiamatu, Heb. Mehumah-Tehom (' the-
Chaos-of-the-Deep '), the Moumis and Tauthe of
Damaskios {Peri Archon, cxxv.), the Thavatth of
Berosos (Ghal. i. 4). It represents primarily the
state of chaos, ' when the earth was waste and wild,
and darkness Avas upon the face of the deep'
(Gen. i. 2) ; and, secondarily, the reduplication of
this in the dark and stormy sea whose tempests,
clouds and gales form the brood of Tiamat, which in
Euphratean myth were specially regarded as seven
Evil Spirits of great and malignant potency. The
Deep in archaic idea has a far wider and profounder
meaning than is contained in our word ' ocean.' It
is formed by the undefined blending of the Oversea —
the ' inare magnum sine fine,' in which the solar and
lunar barques sail ; the Ocean-proper, which of un-
known and awful vastness enrings the world ; and
the Under-sea, invisible and fathomless to man, and
into which the heavenly bodies sink. Tiamat and her
brood, as of course, come into conflict with the bright
powers. Sun-god and Moon-god ; and the victory of
Merodakh over her forms one of the staple subjects
of Euphratean Hymns, and is reduplicated in Syrian
regions in the triumph of Pei'seus over the Sea-
dragon (K^tos), a contest localized at Joppa. The
sickle-shaped scimitar of Marduk (= the crescent-
moon) is also reproduced in the Sem. khereb, Gk.
harpe.1 with which Barsav-Perseus is armed. This
is ever a potent weapon against the darkness-powers
(Vide R. B. Jr., U. sec. vii.). Tiamat is the head of
the tanninim (' sea-monsters.' ' Whales.' A. V.), and

90 PrjMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

is called in Ak. Bis-bis (' Dragon '), As. Mamlu, and
Rahixbu, Heb. Rahabh (' Sea-monster,' hence 'Croco-
dile,' and used symbolically for ' Egypt '). The Ak.
his-bis (intensive reduplication) is connected with the
Turko-Tatar root bis, bos, ' to boil,' ' to bubble,' ' to
be angry,' 'to be evil,' etc. Bis-bis is 'the Fiery-one,'
the Livyathan, who ' maketh the deep to boil like
a pot' {Job, xli. 31). And, as illustrated by the root
bis, the idea of moral evil and wicked hostility to
the gods and the good, is also inextricably connected
with Tiamat and her brood. She is further redupli-
cated in Hydra, and the seven Evil Spirits appear to
be reduplicated, to some extent, in certain southern
constellations (Vide Smith and Sayce, Chal. Ac.
Gen. p. 99). They habitually live 'in the lower
part of heaven ' {= the nocturnal southern sky) and
devise evil ' at sunset.' One is like a Sea-monster
(= Cetus), another a Scorpion (= Scorpio), a third a
Leopard (:= Therion, Liqnis), a fourth a Serpent
(= Hydrci), a fifth a raging Dog (= Canis Maj.),
an animal disliked by the Semite, a sixth ' the evil
Wind,' the Storm-bird (= Corrus).

Cetus, a type of darkness, is styled by Aratos
' the dusky Moiisfcr ' {Phainom. 398) ; Kvdveo<;, Lat.
obsciirus, expresses the blue-black of the nocturnal
sky in a dark constellation. Hesychios has preserved
a very interesting name of the Sign — Kefifiop- fii'ya
Kf]To<;. This is the Bab. -As. Kumaru (' the Dusky.
Vide sup. p. 78), Heb. kemer, 'blackness'; the
Khemarim (Zeph. i. 4. = 'Black-robed ones'), are
"the idolatrous priests' (A. V. 2 Kinijs, xxiii. 5).
The Sem. kumaru is borrowed from the Suin.-Ak.
kumar, which is connected with the Turko-Tatar root
kom, kum, an allied variant of which is torn, turn

Ill] THE HIPPAECHO-PTOLEMY STAE-LIST. 9 1

(Vide Vambery, Etymologisches WorterbucJi, sees,
xcvii., clxxix.), one of the root-meauings of which
is 'darkness,' 'night,' 'mist' It would appeal-
probable that Getus, as well as the hinder part of
Sagittarius^ was called -Mnl Kumar (' the Dusky Con-
stellation ') ; and the name ' the Dusky Star ' would
be peculiarly appropriate to Mira (' the Wondrous,'
o Ceti) Avhich ' during fifteen days attains and
preserves its maximum brightness, which is equal to
that of a star of the 2nd magnitude. Its light
afterwards decreases during three months, until it
becomes invisible' (Guillemin, The Heavens^ 1878,
p. 306). It is not mentioned in the List.

II. — ' The Constellation of Orion.

1. The nebulous-one in the head of Orion — A (nebulous) .

2. The bright one at the right shoulder reddish-yellow — a (1).

3. The one at the left shoulder — y (2).

4. The one behind under this — 32 (4).

5. The one at the bend of the right arm — /a (4).
d. The one at the right wrist — 74 (6).

7. The hindmost and double-one of the southern side of the

quadrilateral at the end of the right arm — ^ (4).

8. The foremost of the southern side — v (4).

9. The hindmost of the northern side — 72 (6).

10. The foremost of the northern side — 69 (6).

11. The foremost of the two in the shepherd's crook— x^ (5).

12. The hindmost of them — x^ (5).

13. The hindmost of the four towards the south as in a straight

line — (1) (4).

14. The one preceding this — 38 (6).
1.5. The one yet preceding this — 33 (6).

16. The remaining-one and foremost of the four — ip'' (^)-

17. The more-northerly of those in the spear of the left hand —

16 (4).

18. The second from the most-northerly-one — 11 (4) .

19. The third from the most-northerly-one — 6 (4).

20. The fourth from the most- northerly-one — tt* (4) .

21. The fifth from the most- northerly-one— tt^ (4).

22. The sixth from the most-northerly -one — tt^ (3).

92 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

23. The seventh from the most-northeriy-one — tt^ (3).

24. The eighth from the most-rortherly-one — tt^ (3).

25. The remaining and most-soatherly-one of those in the

spear — tt" (3).

26. The foremost of the three at the belt— 8 (2).

27. The middle-one of them— e (2).

28. The hindmost of the three— t (2).

29. The one at the haft of the scimitar — tj (3).

.SO. The northern of the three lying together at the end of the

scimitar — 42 (4).
.31. The middle-one of them— 6- (.3).

32. The southern of the three — t (3).

33. The hindmost of the two below the end of the scimitar —

49 (4).

34. The foremost of them — v (4).

35. The bright-one at the end of the left foot, common to the

Stream— ft (1).

36. The more-northerly of those over the ball-of-the-ankle-joint

in the leg — r (4).

37. The one below the left heel beyond (it)— 29 (4).

38. The one below the right and hindmost knee — k (3).
Thirty-eight stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 1st magni-
tude, four of the 2nd, eight of the 3rd, fifteen of the 4th, three
of the 5th, five of the 6th, and a nebulous-one.'

Note.

The figure is represented kneeling upon one knee
in the Herald cs-Eugonasin attitude, and, like Bootes.,
holding the Shepherd's crook, MdxaLpa may, of
course, also be translated ' short sword ' (As to Orton,
vide ill f. -p. 2 oi et seq. ; p. 286). In the Euphratean
sphere, according to Prof. Sayce {Ilerod. p. 403),
Tamrauz (Ak. Duwu-zi) 'represented Orion.' The
Sun-god is natui'ally reduplicated in the brightest of
constellations ; and Tammuz is identical with the
very ancient Sum. divinity Nin-girsu (' the Lord-of-
the-River-bank.' Vide Sayce, Rel. Anct. Babs.
p. 243-4). Like Bootes, Tammuz-Orion is pre-
eminently a ' Shepherd,' the keeper of the flock of

IIlj THE HIPPARCHO- PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 93

stars. According to archaic legend, it was at Eri-
duga (' the Good-city ') on the Euphrates, the
primeval centre of the Ea-cult and of Sumerian
civilization, that Tammuz-Ningirsu received his fatal
wound, just as Phaethon perished at the Eridanos
(Vide R. B. Jr., E. p, 52) ; and, like Tammuz, the
sun-god Mngirsu is constellationally reduplicated.
In Tab. Sm. 1925 we find observations of the stars
of ' the god Ningirsu (= Orwn, or part of Orion), the
god Gut-tav {== Jupiter), and the goddess Dilbat'
(= Venus). All these mythic elaborations are resolv-
able into extreme simplicity. The Sun (Tammuz-
lSringirsu-Phaeth6n-Ori6n) is slain (devoured) by the
Monster of darkness and the deep {Cetus) at the
Ocean-stream ; and this is constellationally redupli-
cated in Orwn, ' Lord-of-the-Hiver-bank,' on the
margin of Eridanus, holding up his spear against
the advancing Sea-monster, which touches the Stream
on its further side. As we read in the Tale of the
Seven Evil Spirits (Col. i. 6), ' Like a Sea-monster to
the Stream' (they went).

III. — 'The Constellation op the Stream.

1. The one after that at the end of the foot of Orion and at

the beginning of the Stream — X (4).

2. The one more-northerly than this at an angle towards the

shin of Oriun — /3 (4).

3. The hindmost of the two after this in a row — 1|/ (4).

4. The foremost of them — <o (4).

6. The hindmost of the two in a row opposite — yu. (4).

6. The foremost of them — v (4).

7. The hindmost of the three after this — i (5).

8. The middle-one of them — o^ (4).

9. The foremost of the three — o^ (4).

10. The hindmost of the four one after another in the adjoin-

ing-space — y (3).

11. The one in front of this — tt (4).

12. The one besides in front of this — S (3).

94 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

13. The foremost of the four— e (3).

14. Likewise the hindmost of the four in a row in the adjoin-

ing-space — t, (3).
1.5. The one in front of this — p' (4).

16. The one besides in front of this — rj (3).

17. The foremost of the four — ? (Unidentified).

18. The one in the curve of the Stream touching the chest of

the Sea-monster — t^ (4).

19. The one behind this— t^ (4).

20. The foremost of the three in a row — r* (4).

21. The middle-one of them— -rt (4).
'22. The hindmost of the three— t^ (4).

23. The northern-one of the foremost side of the four one after

another as in a trapezium — r" (4).

24. The more-southerly-one of the foremost side — t'' (-5).
2.5. The foremost-one of the hindmost side — t^ (4).

26. The one behind it, and the remaining one of the four — t" (4).

27. The northern of the two standing-together towards the east

—1)0 (4).

28. The more-southei'ly of them — v^ (4).

29. The hindmost of the two in a row after the bend — v^ (4).

30. The foremost of them— v* (4).

31. The hindmost of the three one after another in the adjoin-

ing-space — v' (4).

32. The middle-one of them— i;' (4).

33. The foremost of the three — v^ (4).

34. The bright-one last of the Stream — (1).

Thirty-four stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st mao-ni-
tude, five of the 3rd, twenty-six of the 4th, two of the 5th.'

Kote.

No. 34. In the Catalogue of Ulugh Beigh this star
is called Al-Ballm (' the Buckets '). Eridanus having
been connected in idea with the Nile, it is not impro-
bable that the southern star of the constellation was
compared symbolically with the unknown source of
the Nile in the far south, and likened to the Urn
(^Buckets. These w^ere used in pairs.) whence
flowed the stream. Baily observes, 'Most of the
commentators on Ptolemy's catalogue have supposed

Ill J THE IIIPPAECHO-PTOLEMY STAK-LIST. 95

this stav to be Achernar [^Uchir-al-nahr, 'the
End-of-the-River,' a 1st magnitude star] ; but neither
the longitude nor latitude of any of the copies will
agree Avith the position of that star ; and moreover
Achernar was not visible at Alexandria. The mag-
nitude has probably changed since Ptolemy's time'
[3Ie)no{rs Boyal Astron. Soc. xiii. 61). On this last
point we need only remember the instance of the
star V Argus, which, now scarcely visible to the naked
eye, at one time surpassed Caraopws (Vide inf. p. 103)
and almost rivalled Siriiis.

In U^ (1883) I have gone fully into the history of
this constellation as connected Avith the Ocean -stre.T,m,
the Milky-way (Vide R. B. Jr., The MUhj-icaij in
Euphratean Stellar Mythology, in the Academy, Jan. 9,
1892), the Nile (= Seni. jVahal., Nahar, As. Xahru,
'River'), and the Euphrates, Bab. Purattu ('the
Curving-river '), Eg. Puharta, Ak. Puranunu, Heb.
Perath, Phrath, Median tjprato. Old Pers. tjfratu,
and in the Old Test, frequently spoken of simply as
Xahar (' the River '), just as this constellation is
simply called Potamos, Fluvius, etc. Eridanos, as
an Aryan name, would mean ' the Strong-flowing ' \
but I have given various reasons for believing that
it is also a Turanian river-name, and means ' the
Strong-river,' just as Herodotos (i. 180) describes the
Euphrates as ' a broad, deep, swift stream.' The
ordinary Ak. word for ' river ' is hid, e.g., Hid-dagal
(' River-great ') = Heb. Hiddeqel {Gen. ii. 14), and
the cuneiform sign for ' river ' was also formerly
read aria. This reading is now (rightly or wrongly)
abandoned, but it must be remembered that we are
still ignorant of great part of the Sum.-Ak. language ;
and it doubtless had other river-words besides hid.

96 PRIMITIVE COXSTELLATIOXS. [ill

Throughout the Turanian langfuaofes are found a
remarkable series of water- words connected with the
root Ar, Ir, Er, ' to be or become fluid,' e.g.,
Tchagatai eiv'-raek, ' to melt ; ' Yakute ^(r-ak, Osmanli
?V-mak, ' river.' So in Magyar we find ar, ' flood,'
a?'- viz, ' inundation,' etc., with cognate forms such
as the Finnic jarve, Lapponic jaure, etc. (Vide
Budenz, Magyar- Ugor Osszehasonlito Sz('ifar, Budapest,
1873-8, p. 750). The form appears again in the
Basque ura, ' water,' err/o, ' river ' ; and in Ak. itself
we have a, ' water,' ara, ' a going ' (ideograph :
water + leg), ir, ' a tear ' (ideograph : water + eye).
Whether there be an Ak. form aria, ' river,' or no,
Eri-dan (Ak. dan, ' strong ')-09, as a Turanian name,
may well mean ' the Strong -river,' i.e., the Purattu-
Euphratc's. The connexion with ?V, ' a tear,' reminds
us that Eridanos was ' that stream of tears ' (Aratos,
Phavnom. 360), as the scene of the fate of Tammuz,
Phaeth6n, etc. In W. A. I. Y. xlvi. 46 we find ' the
constellation Pur-edin (' River-of-the-Plain '), which
probably refers to Euphratcs-Eridanos.

IV. — ' The Constellation of the Hare.

1. The northern-one of the foremost side of the quadrilateral

over the ears — t (5).

2. The southern-one of the foremost side — k (5).

3. The northern-one of the hindmost side — v (5).

4. The southern-one of the hindmost side — X (5).

5. The one in the chin — fi (4).

6. The one at the end of the left fore-foot — e (4).

7. The one in the middle of the body — a (.3) .

8. The one under the belly— /3 (3).

9. The more-northerly of the two in the hind feet — 8 (4).

10. The more-southerly of them — y (4).

11. The one at the loins — ^ (4).

12. The one at the end of the tail — -q (4).

Twelve stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 3rd magnitude,
sis of the 4th, four of the 5th.'

Ill] THE HIPPAECHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 9/

Note.
Lepus^ Gk. Lagos., a dark constellation — ' the pale
Hare ' (Aratos, Phainom. 370), is a reduplication of
the Moon ; as Sun to Moon, so Orwn to Lepus.
The amount of folk-lore and zoological myth which,
all over the world, connects the Moon and the Hare
is simply astonishing (Vide Gubernatis, Zoological
Mythol. ii. 76-8 ; Hahn, Tsuni-\\Goam^ p. 137 ;
R. B. Jr., E. sees, iv., xxviii. ; The Moon and the
Hare, in Academy, Jan. 26, 1884). Lepus is ever
chased by the Sun-dog Sirius : —

' For, from behind
The constant Scorcher comes as in pursuit,
And rises with it, and its setting spies' (H. D. 339-41) ;

a reduplication of the endless pursuit of the Moon by
the Sun. The Hare is called in Ak. Ka-edinna
(' Face-of-the-Desert '), As. Annabu, Heb. Arnebheth,
Arab. Amah ; and appears in a lunar connexion on
a Cylinder (Lajard, Culte de Mithra, PL lii. 6) described
in L. p. 11, and as a constellation-figure on a Syrian
agate seal {Lb. PI. Iviii. 5). I have not yet met with
a constellation of the Hare in the Tablets. The animal
is shown on As. monuments from Kouyunjik. On a
Trojan Whorl (Schliemann, Troy and its Remains,
Fig. Ixxv. p. 121) a Hare and two Antelopes are
shown, on which Schliemann oberves, ' Burnouf
describes the animal to the right as a hare [which
it undoubtedly is, J, the .symbol of the Moon.'
The Classical astronomical writers have nothing of
importance to say about Lepus and were evidently
much in the dark respecting its constellational history.
It is somehow connected by them Avith Hermes.
Thus, o 'Eoyaij? hoKel Oeivai avTov iv Toi'i dcrTpoii [Kafas.
xxxiv.). The only explanation which I can suggest

7

98 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [lH

of this is, that possibly the Sem. an-na-bu ('hare')
was, either by error or purposely, also read (Semiti-
cally) Ilu JVahu (' the god Nebo, = Hermes-
Mercurius), and thus supplied a connexion between
the god and the animal. On a Gk. A''a.se {Brit. Mu^.
Cat. 1870, \o\. II. No. 1296) the lunar Artemis
holds up a Hare, but this may be in her general
character as huntress. Hare-hunting is shown on
the Vases.

V. — ' The Constellation op the Bog.

1. The one in the mouth most-brilliant, called the Dog, reddish-

yellow — a (1).

2. The one at the ears — (4).

3. The one at the head — /a (5).

4. The northern of the two in the neck — y (4).

5. The southern-one of them — t (4).

6. The one at the chest — 1.5 (5).

7. The northern of the two at the right knee — v" (6).

8. The more-ROutherly-one of them — f- (5).

9. The one at the end of the forefoot — /? (3).

10. The foremost of the two in the left knee — ^ (5).

11. The hindmost of them— ^^ (5)

12. The hindmost of the two in the left shoulder — o- (4).

13. The foremost of them — o^ (5).

14. The one in the outgrowth of the left thigh — S (3).

15. The one under the belly between the thighs — c (3).

16. The one at the bend of the right foot — k (4).

17. The one at the end of the right foot— ^ (3).

18. The one at the tail— 17 (3).

Eighteen stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude,
five of the 3rd, five of the 4th, six of the 5th, one of the 6th.

The Unformed-stars around the Dog.

1. The one on the north of the head of the Dog — 19 Monoc. (4).

2. The most-southerly of the four under the hind feet, as in a

straight line — k Columbae (4).

3. The one more-northerly than this — 497 Lacaille — (4).

4. The one besides more-northerly than this — r Can. Maj. (4).

5. The remaining and more-northerly-one of the four — 521

Lacaille (4).

IIlJ THE HII-PARCIIO -PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. 99

6. The foremost of the three west of the four, as in a straight

line — fjt, Colunibae (4).

7. The middle-one of them — \ Golumhae (4) .

8. The hindmost of the three — y Golumhae (4).

9. The hindmost of the two bright-ones below these —

j8 Golumhae (2).

10. The foremost of them — a Golumhae (2).

11. The remaining and most-southern of the aforesaid (unformed-

stars) — Golumhae (4).
Eleven stars in all, whereof two (are) of the 2nd magnitude,
nine of the 4th.'

Note.
As to Cam's Maj'., vide t'nf. p. 275.

VI. — ' The Constellation op the Fore-dog.

1. The one in the neck — /3 (4).

2. The bright-one towards the hind-parts called the Fore-

dog ' — a (1).

Xote.
As to Canis Ilin., vide inf. p. 279.

VII. — 'The Constellation op Argo.

1. The foremost of the two iu the uppermost-part-of-the-

ship— 11 (5).

2. The hindmost of them — t (3).

3. The more-northerly of the two lying together under the boss

in the stern — -^ (4) .

4. The more-southerly-one of them — (4).

5. The one in front of these — tt (4).

6. The bright-one in the middle of the boss — k (3).

7. The foremost of the three under the boss — p (4).

8. The hindmost of them — t (4).

9. The middle-one of the three — o- (4).

10. The one at the end of the stern — x. i'^)-

11. The more -northerly of the two in the hull of the stern — v

(4).

12. The more-southerly-one of them — X (3).

13. The more-northerly of the two in the deck of the stern — •/

(5).

14. The foremost of the three in a row — (f^ (5) .

15. The middle-one of them— ^3 (4,).

16. The hindmost of the three — f (4).

7 *

lOO PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

17. The bright-one behind these on the deck — 8 (2).

18. The foremost of the two dim-ones under the bright-one — w^

(5).

19. The hindmost of them — w^ (5).

20. The foremost of the two above the bright-one aforesaid — Ai

(5).

21. The hindmost of them— A^ (5).

22. The northern of the three at the bosses at the mast-hold— p^

(4).

23. The middle-one of them— p3 (4).

24. The southern-one of the three — -p^ (4).

25. The more-northerly of the two together below these— Lac.

794 (4).

26. The more-southerly-one of them — Lac. 783 (4).

27. The southern of the two in the midst of the mast — o^ (3).

28. The more-northerly-one of them — o^ (3).

29. The foremost of the two towards the end of the mast — o^ (4).

30. The hindmost of them— o* (4).

31. The one below the three of the hindmost boss — e (2).

32. The one at the severance of the deck — Lac. 864 (2).

33. The one between the rudders in the hull — i (4).

34. The dim-one behind this — r (6).

35. The bright-one behind this under the deck — t, (2).

36. The bright-one more south than this at the lower part of

the hull— 77 (2).

37. The foremost of the three behind this— 2 (2).

38. The middle-one of them— (3).

39. The hindmost of the three— 1^ (2).

40. The foremost of the two behind these, the one towards the

severance (of the deck) — 6 (3).

41. The hindmost of them — c (3).

42. The foremost of the two in the northern and foremost

rudder — Lac. 471 (4).

43. The hindmost of them— ^ (3).

44. The foremost of the two in the remaining rudder, called

Kanohos — a (1).

45. The remaining and hindmost one of them — h (3).
Forty-five stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude,

seven of the 2nd, nine of the 3rd, nineteen of the 4th, seven of
the 5th, two of the 6th.'

Note.
In the above description, as in Cicero's Aratos

Ill] THE HIPPAECHO-PTOI.EMY STAR-LIST. 10 1

(Vide R. B. Jr., H.D. Fig. Ivii. p. 63), on the
Farnese Globe, and in other instances, we find a
demi-ship ; and the explanation of this singular fact
is that the Ship of Hipparchos, like Greek ships
generally, is derived from the Phoenician war-galley.
A well-known example of a Phoenician bireme,
figured by Assyrians at Kouyunjik (Vide Rawlinson,
And. Monarchies, i. 550 ; Perrot, Hist, of Art in Ph.
i. 34), shows the exact prototype whence was derived
the form of the starry vessel to which the Hellenes
gave naturally the famous name ofArgo ('the Bright ').
There is the high curving stern which, as it often
ended in the neck and head of a goose, in a Greek
galley was called xnv^o-ico<; (List, No. 10). There is
the high stern deck (No. 13) where the warriors were
ranged; and the two rudders or long steering oars
(No. 33). The prow consists of a low beak (e/A/3oXo?,
Lat. rostrum) Avhich projects from the keel ; and the
ship itself ends abruptly in a perpendicular line
extending from the top of the bulwarks to the keel,
giving (to us) the impression of a demi-ship. Like
Argo it has a single mast (As to Argo, vide R. B. Jr.,
E. sec. v.). As Canon Rawlinson observes, the later
As. boats and galleys were modelled on those of the
Phoenicians, but apparently without masts and sails,
probably on account of the 'extreme rapidity of the
Mesopotamian rivers, on which sailing boats are still
uncommon.' Being used only for peaceful purposes
they were not armed with beaks or otherwise. In
later ages when the types of naval architecture had
altered, and when the prow, as well as the stern,
frequently rose high in a %9?vto-/<;o9 or other termina-
tion, the archaic type was not unnaturally considered
to represent an actual demi-ship, a form which

102 PRIMITIVK CONSTELLATIOXS. L^II

harmonized with other constellation-figures, such as
the Bull and the Horse. This is shown in the
description of Star No. 32 of the List, which is at the
' severance,' ' cutting of,' or ' segment ' ('aTroro/ij;') of
the deck (Vide No. 40 ; E. B. Jr., 0. N. C. p. 21).
A coin of Tzur (Gesen. Tab. xxxiv. N.) shows the
Argo-type very exactly, and even after close inspec-
tion it might be thought that a demi-ship was
represented. Such, then, is the reason of the
constellational form of Argu, which Theon styles
H^mitomos (' Cut-in-two '). The Latin writers
equally note that Argo was a demi-ship (Schol. Germ,
p. 97, ap. Robert, EratostJi. Catas. Rellq^. p. 174;
Hyginus, Poet. Astron. ii. 37). Proctor acutely
remarks, ' It is noteworthy that when we make due
correction for the eifects of precession during the past
four thousand years, the old constellation Argo is set
on an even keel, instead of being tilted some 45° to the
horizon as at present when due south.' Proctor
connected Argo with Noah's Ark, and it is not
improbable that it represented the huge Ship of the
Euphratean Deluge Story. As yet only a very small
portion of the archaic astronomical records of the
Euphrates Valley have been examined ; and, as of
course, many star- and constellation-names which may
yet be brought to light, are unknown to us. We
must not, therefore, at present expect to find the
Euphratean originals of all our Signs and star-names.
Still very much has been accomplished in this
direction ; and, as regards Argu, we find in W. A. I.
III. Ixix. 65 'the god Maganda-anjia' (' Ship-of-the-
Canal-of- heaven ') . Various stars and constellations
are often styled ' gods ' in the Tablets, the god So-
and-so frequently appearing in a stellar reduplication.

Ill J THE HIPPAECIIO-rXOLICiAIY STAR-LIST. IO3

or as in themselves possessing divine power, like the
thirty stellar ^ovXalov; Oeov'i of Diod6ros(VideR.B.Jr.,
J'J. sec. xxvii.); IlK^/anda is almost certainly a star-
god, and the ' Canal' is the Via Lactea (Vide inf.
p. 105) on which the mighty Arjio sails.

An Egyptian poet of the reign of Tehutimes III.,
hymns the star Karbana, the Karbanit of Assur-
banipal, Gk. Kanobos, Lat. Canopus,

' Which pours his light in a glance of fire
When he disperses the morning dew '

(Ap. Brugscb, Eg. under the Fharaohs, i. 371).

The Schol. Arat. 351 says, ^aiverai Se irporov 'arro
' VoSov TOi? 'fiTT' AtyvTrrov liKeovaiv. It COuld be jUSt

seen on the southern horizon by the astronomers of
Tznr, B.C. 1200 ; and, being thus so near the earth,
was also called by the Greeks Trepiyeto?, by the
Latins terrestris, and by the Arabs Suliail ('the
Ground '-star). I will not refer here to the world-
wide myth of the solar hero and his ship, boat, barge,
cup, etc. with which Argo Navis is connected.

VIII. — ' The Constellation of the Water-snake.

1. Of the five in the head the southern-one of the foremost two

at the nostrils — o- (4).

2. The more-northerly of them and above the eye — S (4).

3. The northern of the two behind these, as at the head — e (4).

4. The more-southerly-one of them and at the yawning-mouth

-r, (4).

5. The one behind all, as at the side of the face — ^ (4).

C. The foremost of the two in the outgrowth of the neck — w (5).

7. The hindmost of them— 6 (4).

8. The middle-one of the three in a row in the bend of the

neck — r' (4).

9. The hindmost of the three — i (4).

10. The most-southerly of them — t'^ (4).

11. The dim and northern-one of the two together towards the

south — A (6).

12. The bright-one of the two together — a (2).

104 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iH

13. The foremost of the three following-ones after the bend — k

(4).

14. The middle-one of them — i;i (4).

15. The hindmost of the three — X (4).

IG. The foremost of the three in a row, as in a straight line —

17. The middle-one of them — (j>^ (4).

18. The hindmost of the three — v (3).

19. The northern-one of the two at the bottom of the Bowl —

/3(4).

20. The more-southerly-one of them — x^ ('^) •

21. The foremost of the three after these, as in a triangle —

^ (4).

22. The middle and more-southerly-one of them — o (4).

23. The hindmost of the three— j8 (3).

24. The one after the Crow ia the tail — y (4).

25. The one at the end of the tail — tt (4).

Twenty-five stars in all, whereof one (i.s) of the 2nd magnitude,
three of the 3rd, nineteen of the 4th, one of the 5th, one of the
6th.

The TJyiformed-stars around the Water-snake.

1. The one south of the head — 1 (3).

2. The one behind those in the neck after an interval — 15

Sextaniis ? (3).

Two stars in all, of the 3rd magnitude.'

Hydra is a variant reduplication of the Cetus-
concept, the Storm-and-ocean-monster ; and is
attacked by the Sun-god (Vide Cylinder showing
' Merodach attacking the Serpent,' Smith and Sayce,
Choi. Account of Gen. p. 90). In this aspect it is
referred to in an archaic Ak. Hymn which speaks of
' the monstrous snake ' that ' bears the yoke on its
seven heads . . the strong serpent of the sea'
{W. A. I. II. xix. No. 2, 11. 7, 8, ap. Sayce). The
quick-flowing rivers seem to have been compared by
the Akkadai with the swift gliding of a huge glisten-
ing serpent, and so we arrive at the idea of the (Ak.)
Hid tsirra (IF. A. I. II. li. 45, ' Eiver of the Snake ')

Ill] THE HIPPAECHO-PTOLEMY STAR-TJST. IO5

which, as Prof. Sayce notes {Rel. Anet. Bahs. p. IIG),
developes into an Okeanos-stream, like the Korse
Great Serpent, the Midhgardhsomr (' the Serpent
of Midgard,' = Middle-garth, = the Earth), the
Weltum-spanner (' Stretcher-round-the-World '). This
Ocean-snake-stream is also likened to a Cord, and
then becomes 'the River of the Cord of the great
god' {W.A.I. II. li. 46), and 'the River of the
great Abyss' (Ak. Hid Zuah-gal^ As. Kahru Apsi
rabi, lb. 47). But, next, this oceanic Snake-river
becomes connected with a famous stream of the
Upper Deep, the Via Lactea; and so we read
' River of the Shepherd's hut, dust-cloud high '
(TF. .4.7". 11. li. 48-9). The 'Shepherd' is the
luckless Sun-god, Duwu-zi, elsewhere {lb. W .
xxvii. No. 1) called ' the Lord of the Shepherd's
Mound,' i.e., the tel (hill) of heaven. This Snake-
river of sparkling dust, the stream of the abyss on
high through which it runs, connected alike with the
hill of the Sun-god and with the passage of ghosts,
is the Milky Way. ' Dust-cloud ' (Ak. kit^ Altaic
hut, ' ghost,' Anc. Chinese kut, Mod. Chi. kuei,
' cloud-like,' hence ' ghost.' ' Kwei., a name of
ill-omen applied to the names of the departed.'
Kingsmill. Vide R. B. Jr., E. S. R. v. 23), As.
Zalnku, also signifies ' ghost,' a phantom being so
imagined. The Via Lactea has elsewhere been styled
' the Path of Spirits,' ' the Road of Souls,' etc. As
I have shown (Vide Academy, Jan. 9, 1892, p. 43j,
the Great Serpent of the two circular uranographic
Stones depicted in W. A. I. HI. xlv. respectively
represents the Galaxias in May and in November.

The seven-headed Euphratean Hydra is also a
variant phase of the seven Evil Spirits (Vide sup.

I06 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOiNS. [ill

p. 90) who are allies of Tiamat ; and in late times
the Monster appears as the ' Hydra Septiceps ' of
Aldrovandus {Serpentum et Draconwn Historia, 1640,
p. 386). Heads grow rapidly, and by the time the
creature has reached the marsh of Lerne, we find
it with nine heads, or, according to some, with a
hundred. Thus Vergil, ' Lernaeus turba capitum
circumstetit anguis ' {Aen. viii. 300). The contest
between Herakles and the Hydra assisted by the
Crab, and its commemoration in this part of the
heavens will be subsequently referred to (Vide inf.
p. 145). The Hydra of Aratos has several heads
{Phainom. 697). A Euphrateau Boundary-stone
(Vide R. B. Jr., Z. Fig. xi. p. 13) shows Hydra and
Scorpio side by side (For further reference to Hydra,
vide R. B. Jr., J'J. sec. vii.). The KaJckah Tdr
(' Constellation of the Snake,' W. A. I. II. xlix. 12 ;
in. Ivii. o2) is the Caput Hydrae.

IX. — ■ The Constellation of the Bowl.

1. The one in the bottom of the Bowl, common to the

Water-siiahe — a (4).

2. The more-southerly of the two in the middle of the Bowl —

7(4).
.3. The moz-e-northerly of them — 8 (4).

4. The one at the southern part of the circumference of the

mouth — ^ (4).

5. The one at the northern part of the circumference — e (4).

6. The one at the southern handle — t; (4).

7. The one at the northern handle — 6 (4).

Seven stars in all, of the 4th magnitude.'

Xote.

The stars in the above figure exactly form a

]>akchic KavOapa, with its two handles rising above

the two extremities of the circumference; and the

circumstance reminds us that one Greek le"-end

Ill] THE HIPl'ARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LTHT. lOJ

connected Kreter (' tlie Mixing-bowl') with the Cap
of Ikarios to wlaom Balichos gave the vine, and who
was translated to the skies as Bootes (Vide inf. p. 284).
But the original connexion of both Crater and
Corvus is with Hijdra^ the Storm-and-ocean-monster.
This appears in the legend that Crater ' dolium esse
quo Mars [Ares] ab Otho [Otos] et Ephialte sit
coniectus ' (Hyginus, Poet. Astron. ii. 40). Whatever
may be the exact meaning of this very ancient and
singular myth, the binding of Ar§s for ' thirteen
months [ = the year + the intercalary month] in a
vessel of bronze' {11. v. 385-7 ; E. B. Jr., E. p. 19),
it seems clear that the huge jar {duliuvi. Cf. the
colossal jars found by Schliemann at Troy, Troy and
its Remains, PI. xi. B) is a symbol of the vault of
heaven wherein at times storm, wind, clouds, rain
are chaotically mixed. Another legend, located in
Asia Minor, connected Crater with the mixing of
human blood with wine in a bowl (Hyginus, Poet.
Astron. ii. 40). This is a step towards the kosmogonic
creation-myths recorded by Berosos {ChaJ. i. 5, 6),
in which a woman is cut asunder in order to form
heaven and earth, or the blood from a beheaded
divinity mixed with earth forms men and animals.
In a trilingual List (IF. A. I. II. xxii. 29) the Ak.
Lut Tsir-na is explained by the Sem. Karpat Tsiri
(' Bowl of the Snake '). There is no express mention
made of star or constellation, but if this title does
not denote these two constellations I am ignorant
what its meaning can possibly be.

X. — ' The Constellation of the Grow.

1. The one in the beak, also common to the Water-snalce —

a (3).

2. The one in the neck towards the head— e (3).

I08 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iH

3. The one in the breast — ^ (6).

4. The one in the foremost and right wing — y (3).

5. The foremost of the two in the hindmost wing — 8 (3).

6. The hindmost of them — -q (4).

7. The one at the end of the foot, common to the Water-snale

-/3 (3).
Seven stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 3rd magnitude,
one of the 4th, one of the 5th.'

Note.

TiMiiat-Cetus (Vide smjji. p. 89) is also 'the
Serpent of night,' ' the Serpent of darlcness,' ' the
Wicked-serpent,' and ' the mightily strong Serpent,'
' epithets which show that it was on the one hand
the embodiment of moral evil, and on the other was
primitively nothing more than the darkness destroyed
by the sun ' (Smith and Sayce, Chal. Ac. Gen. p. 88) ;
and on a Creation-legend Tablet from Guduaki
(Cutha) we read (ap. Ih. p. 93) : —

' Warriors with the bodies of birds of the desert, men
With the faces of ravens,
These the great gods created,
Tiamtu gave them suck.'

We therefore notice the connexion between
Tiamat and the Demon-ravens ; and the eighteenth
lunar Mansion (TF. A. I. V. xlvi. No. 1, 1. 20), whose
stars are a, /3, 7, h, e Corvi., has for its patron-divinity
the god (Ak.) Im-dugud-khu ('the Great Storm-
bird'), Sam. Ramtinu-ikahhid (Raman-is-terrible),
llaman being the Storm-god. Elsewhere QV. A. I.
III. Hii. Xo. 1, 11. 26-7) this god Im-dugud-khu is
called ' the constellation of the Storm-bird,' and we
read ' that constellation for mist and tempest is.'
From this and similar passages we observe that a
god often = a star or constellation ; and, con-
versely, a star or constellation is frequently also

Ill] THE IIIPPARCHO-PTOLEJIY STAR-LIST. I09

a god. We further notice the close connexion
between the Storm-raven and the Storm-and-
darkness Serpent. Aratos {Phainom. 449) says that
the ' Croio's form seems to peck the fold ' of the
Water-snake. This is appropriate, as Ti^mat gave
the brood of Crows suck. Frequent mention is made
in the Tablets of a kaMcah Ugaga (' Star of the
Raven '), but Jensen (who calls it Unagga) has given
various reasons for supposing that it refers to
a comet (Yide Kosmologw^ p. 153), which perhaps
was a manifestation regarded as belonging to the
Ti&mat-order.

XI. — ' The Constellation op the Gentaur.

1. The most-southerlj of the four in the head — 2 (5).

2. The more-northerly-one of them — i (5).

3. The foremost of the two remaining and middle-ones — 1 (4).

4. The hindmost of them and the remaining-one of the four

-3 (5).

5. The one at the left and foremost shoulder — t (3).

6. The one at the right shoulder — 9 (3).

7. The one at the left shoulder-blade — i{r (4).

8. The more-northerly of the foremost two of the four in the

thyrsus — I (4).

9. The more-southerly of them — o (4).

10. Of the remaining two, the one at the end of the thyrsus-

-^ (4).

11. The remaining-one and more-southerly than this — p (4).

12. The foremost of the three in the right side — t (4).

13. The middle-one of them— v (4).

14. The hindmost of the three — ^ (4).

15. The one at the right arm — m (4).

16. The one at the right wrist — k (3).

17. The one at the end of the right hand — a (4).

18. The bright-one in the outgrowth of the human body — X (3).

19. The hindmost of the two dim-ones more-northerly than this-

w(5).

20. The foremost-one of them — x (5).

21. The one at the outgrowth of the back — w (5).

22. The one in front of this at the back of the horse — (5).

no PRnilTIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [ill

28. The hindmost of the three at the loins — jj. (3).

24. The middle-one of them — c (4).

25. The foremost of the three — p (5).

26. The foremost of the two together at the right thigh — /3 (3).

27. The hindmost of them — e (4).

28. The one in the bi'east under the armpit (/Aaa-xa\r;v) of the

horse — Lac. 1155 (4).

29. The foremost of the tsvo under the belly—? (2).

30. The hindmost of them— ? (3).

31. The one at the bend of the right foot — v (2).

32. The one in the ankle of the same foot — ^ (2).

33. The one under the bend of the left foot—/ (2).

34. The one at the frog (^arpaxiov) of the same foot — ^ (4).

35. The one at the end of the right forefoot — a (1).

36. The one at the knee of the left foot — y (2).

37. The one outside under the right hindfoot— e (4).
Thirty-seven stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude,

five of the 2nd, seven of the 3rd, sixteen of the 4th, eight of
the 5th.'

Xoie.

The constellation Centaurus^ ava.viant oi Sagittarius,
was connected in Greek mythic legend with the wise
Cheiron, who taught mankind 'the tigm-es of Olympos'
(Vide v{f. p. 124). The Katas. calls this Sign
Xeipcov, and the Schol. Arat. and Schol. German,
affree. In J^. S. Jl. Part iv., to which I would refer
the reader, I had occasion to consider the constellation
at length in connexion with Tablet T['. ..1. I. III.
Ivii. Xo. 5, where it is described under the name of
(Ak.) Gud-elim (' The Bull-of-Bel,' or 'the Horned-
bull,' i.e., Bull with huge horns). I there also gave
two illustrations from engraved genis of Western
Asia of Gud-elim holding up Ur-bat or Lig-bat (' the
Beast-of-deatli ') = (,'e?i^fmn<s holding Lupus (Vide
Lajard, Culte de Mithra, PI. Ixviii. 19, 20) ; and
sliowed, from the description of Aratos, that the
ligure of the archaic Gk. constellational Centaur was,
in all probability, not that of the ordinary Classical

Ill] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. I I I

type, but represented a creature Avliose forelegs and
feet were those of a man. This is the type on one of
the gems referred to, which shows a horned and
winged Man-horse, kneeling on one knee ; and it was
also the type of Cheiron on the famous Coffer of
Kypselos (Paus. V. xix. 2; Vide inf. p. 213). The
Avise centaur Cheiron, who sprung from Kronos and
a daughter of Okeanos, is a Avestern reduplication of
the Avise unanthropomorphic Ea-bani (' Ea-made-me'),
the friend of the hero Gilgames, who is always
represented as a kind of man-bull, and who ' Avas
believed to have originally ascended out of the
abysses of the sea' (Smith and Sayce, Glial. Ac. Gen.
p. 205). In the above Tablet stars of the ' right ' and
' left ' hands and of tlie ' left foot' of Gud-elim are
referred to.

XII. — ' The CoNSTEFiLATiON OF THE Wild-heast.

1. The one at the end of the forefoot near the hand of the

Gentaur — o (3).

2. The one at the bend of the same foot — a (.S).

3. The foremost of the two over the shoulder-blade — t (4).

4. The hindmost of them — -q (4).

5. The one in the middle of the body of the Wild-heast — (4).

6. The one in the belly under the flank — tt (5).

7. The one at the thigh—/? (5).

8. The most-northerly of the two at the outgrowth of the thigh

-i (5).

9. The more-southerly-one of them — p (5).

10. The one at the end of the loins — s (5).

11. The southern-one of the three at the end of the tail — r (5).

12. The middle-one of the three— t (4).

13. The more-northerly-one of them.— k (4).

14. The more-southerly of the two in the neck — v (4).
1.5. The more-northerly one of them — fx (4).

16. The foremost of the two in the muzzle — y (4).

17. The hindmost of them— X (4).

18. The most-southerly of the two in the forefoot— e (4).

19. The more-northerly- one of them — 8 (4).

112 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [HI

K^ineteen stars in all, -whereof two (are) of the 3rd magnitude,
eleven of the 4th, six of the 5th.'

Note.
The Kald-ah Lig-hat (Aide sup. p. 1 10) appears on
tlie famous Section of the Euphratean Planisphere
discovered by Geo. Smith ' in the palace of
Sennacherib' (Vide As.Disi'averies, 1875, pp. 407-8).
It is placed in the Outer or Southern Circle of the
Planisphere, and below the Scorpion (Vide Bezold,
Cat. iv. 1385). According to the arrangement of
Aratos, the Therion is included in the Centaur
(Vide sup. p. 11) ; and in the "West it ultimately
became Ltqnis, the largest common wild-beast, and
also a type of Darkness, for the Li ghat is one of the
Demon-animals overcome by the Sun-god or other
Light-power. It appears to be figured on the
monuments (Vide W. A. I. III. xlv. ' Emblems on
Black Stones from Babylon '). x\propos of monsters
and combinations of animal-forms, Berosos, when
speaking of the primeval Darkness and Chaos, the
mythical and mystical Scorpion-and-dragon period,
says : — ' Other human figures were to be seen with
the legs and horns of goats [= Sat}'rsj ; some had
horses' feet, whilst others united the hind quarters of
a horse with the body of a man [= the archaic
Centaurus-ty^d]. Bulls likewise were bred then with
the heads of men ; and dogs, with fourfold bodies,
terminated in their extremities with the tails of fishes
[Cf. the Capricorn-iy^e]. In short, there were
creatures in which wei-e combined the limbs of every
species of animals. Of all which were preserved
delineations in the temple of Belos ' (Chal. i. 4).

XIII. — ' The Constellation of the Censer.
1. The more-northerly of the two in the base — y (5).

in] THE HIPPARCI-IO-PTOLEMY STAR-MST. II3

2. The more-southerly-one of them — t (4).

3. The one in the midst of the Little-allar — 8 (4).

4. The northern of the three on the altar-hearth — a (5).

5. The more -southerly of the two remaining and together — ^ (4) ,

6. The more-northerly-one of them — -q (4) .

7. The one at the end of the flame — 6 (4).

Seven stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 4th magnitude,
two of the 5th.'

Xote.
As to this important little constellation the Altar
or Censer^ vide suj). p. G7 ; mf. pp. 180, 216-18.

XIV. — ' The Cokstellation of tue Southern Crown.

1. The foremost outside the southern circumference — a (4).

2. The hindmost of them at the Grown — e (5).

3. The one behind this — t, (5).

4. The one besides behind this — fi (4).

5. The one after this in front of the hip-joint of the^4rc7ier — -q (5).

6. The one after this and more-northerly than the bright-one

in the knee (of the Archer) — fl (4).

7. The one more-northerly than this — y (4).

8. The one besides more-northerly than this — S (4).

9. The hindmost of the two preceding-ones near this one, in

the northern circumference — /a (6).

10. The foremost of the two dim-ones — v (G).

11. The one before this at some distance — i (5).

12. The one besides before this — k (6).

13. The remaining and more-southerly-one of the aforesaid —

\ (5).
Thirteen stars in all, whereof five (are) of the 4th magnitude,
six of the 5th, two of the 6th.'

Note.

The Stephanos Notios is noticed by Aratos, but

even in his day it had not yet received this name : —

' Other few
Below the Archer under his forefeet,
Led round in circle roll without a name ' (H. D. 399-401).

Here is the germ of the name Crown, which
illustrates how strong is the principle of reduplica-
tion even in late times, the Sign being merely

8

114 PRIMITIVE CONSTET.LATIOXS. [ill

a reduplication of the Nurthern Croicn. So, ages
later, Leo Mln. was put over the back of Leo.
I Avould call attention to the fact, that the Sagittarius
of Aratos evidently resembled the Euphratean type,
and not the ordinary classical and modern type of
the constellation-figure, in the position of his forelegs
or leg, which were over the Corolla, instead of being
immediately behind it, as e.g., on the Farnese Globe.
This is one of the innumerable interesting indications
that Aratos had before him constellation-figures
whose prototypes belonged to Western Asia. Flam-
steed {Atlas Coelestis, 1729) places the Corona
Australis between the two forelegs of the Archer.
Proctor, improperly, places the tAvo forelegs in the
middle of the Crown.

XV. — ' The Constellation of the Southern Fish.

1. The one in tlie mouth, the same as at the beginning of the

Water—a (1).

2. The foremost of the three at the southern circumference of

the head— /3 (4).
.3. The middle-one of them — y (4).

4. The hindmost of the three — 8 (4).

5. The one at the fin — e (4).

6. The one at the southern spine of the back — /a (6).

7. The hindmost of the two in the bellj- — ^ (5).

8. The foremost of them — X (4).

9. The hindmost of the three at the northern spine — -q (4).

10. The middle-one of them— 9 (4).

11. The foremost of the three— i (4).

12. The one at the end of the tail — k (4).

12 stars in all, whereof one (is) of the 1st magnitude, nine of
the 4th, two of the 5th.

The Unformed-stars around the Southern Fish.

1. The foremost of the bright-ones in front of the Fish—

u. Microscop. (3).

2. The middle-one of them— 1 (3).

3. The hindmost of the three — 2 (3).

4. The dim-one in front of this — ft Microscop. '{!}).

in] THE HIPPARCHO-PTOLEMY STAR-LIST. II 5

f). The more-southerly of the two remaimng-ones — 6 (4).
6. The Tiorthern-one of them — 4 (4) .
Six stars in all, whereof three (are) of the 3rd. magnitude,
two of the 4th, one of the 5th.'

Note.
Ktesias of Kniclos, the famous physician, who is said
to have returned to his home in b.c. 398, and the
loss of whose works on Persia and Assyria is so much
to be regretted, related that the Piscis Auntralis,
the ' Great Fish,' as it was called, was first in a lake
at Bambyke (= Hierilpolis), the modern Membij,
called in the treatise On the Sijriaii Goddess, Hire
(' the Sacred '), and which was not far from the
ancient Hittite capital Gargamis (Eg. Qirqamisha,
Sem. Karkhemish), to the importance, religious and
otherwise, of whicli it succeeded. In this lake the
Fish was said to have saved the life of Derketo
(Vide inf. p. 22J:) daughter of Aphrodite ; and
a reduplication of this idea represented it as having
also saved Isis. It Avas akin to the zodiacal Fishes
(Vide Kastas. xxxviii. ; Schol. Arat. Fhainom. 239 ;
Schol. German, in loc; Hegesias, ap. Hyginus,
Poet. Astron. ii. 41). Similarly, Diogenites Erith-
rakos (ap. Hyginus, Ih. 30) related that ^'enus and
Cupid having come to the river Euphrates and being
alarmed at the sudden appearance of the giant
Typhon, threw themselves into the water, ' et ibi
figuram piscium forma mutasse.' So Manilius : —

' Scilicet in piscem sese Cytherea novavit,
Cum Babyloniacas submersa profugit in undas '

(Astronomicon, iv. 680-1).

Here, as ever, really early Greek legend connects
the Signs with Western Asia. At Bambyke fishes
were regarded as sacred (Peri tes Si/. The. xiv.).
Ea, the primitive Fish-god of Eridu (' the Holy-city,'

8 *

Il6 PRIMITIVE COXSTELLATIOXS. [ill

= the original Hierapolis), once actually on the
shores of the Tlhamtu saplltu sa Tsit-samsi (' the
Lower Sea of the Kising-sun,' = the Persian
Gulf), and his solar son Marduk, as Kha-Ea ('the
Fish-of-Ea'), -svith the Semitic consorts sub-
sequently bestowed upon them, in accordance with
the Semitic idea of male and female divine couples,
are the true source of the other piscine divinities of
Western Asia, and of constellational reduplications of
a Fish. The thirtieth lunar asterism is Gusirahba (' the
Yoke of the Sea ') ^ Sem. yribu-tamti ('the Proclama-
tion of the Sea ') ^^, a-,ir Sag. These stars form
a ' yoke ' thrown across the ecliptic near the shore
of the great celestial sea (Vide sup. p. 84) which
extends thence to the Itam. In W. A. I. V. xlvi.
No. 1, Rev. 1. 1 Giisirahha is identified with the
Kakkab Xun-hi^ pronounced Xun-pe {Tub. 82-8-
16, i. Ob. 1. 21), 'the Lordly-city' (=Eridu). The
asterism located on the margin of the heavenly sea
was thus the appropriate patron of the city Avhich
stood on the margin of the earthly sea ; and in
W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. 4, Rev. 1 we read :—

1. Kakkah Bll-hat ana kakkab Tamti dikhu.

' The-constellafcion Venus to the-asterism of the Sea (is)
opposite.

2. The-constellation Venus to tbe-constellation of fhe Fish (is)

opposite.

3. The-constellation Venus to the-constellalion of the Goat-fish

(is) opposite.'

In this case the Fish appears to be the Piscis
Australis. In Tab. 81-7-27, 94 (Bezold, Cat. iv.
1803), which is one of the three surviving Fragments
of the Euphratean Planisphere, we find the constel-
lation (Ak.) Sila-da-kha-U (' The Fish-of-the-Canal')
as the Sign of the Outer or Southern Circle of the

Ill] THE HIPPAKCHO-rXOLEMY STAE-LIST. II7

eleventh month Idu As-a-an (' The Month-of-the
Curse-of-rain') whose zodiacal Sign is the Water-
pourer. The ' canal ' is, of course, the stream from
the Urn of Aquarius^ the Water {Sup. p. 87),
which enters the mouth of the ' Great Fish ' . at the
bright star Fomalhaut ( =Ar. Famm-al-Hut, 'Mouth-
of-the-Fish').

Dupuis concludes his very learned account of the
heavenly Signs, ' Nous terminons ici {i.e., at the
Southern FisK} I'enumei-ation des Constellations
connues des anciens, et dont I'origine se perd dans
la nuit des temps.' He had done what he could, and
had enough of refined common sense not to give
baseless theories of the origin of the Figures of the
heavenly Olyinpos, but to perceive that the facts
were concealed by a veil then impenetrable. Thanks
to modern scientific research, the veil can now be
taken away. The Catalogue concludes : —

' The stars at the southern part (of the Sphere are) .316 in all,
whereof 7 (are) of the 1st magnitude, 18 of the 2nd, 63 of the
3rd, 164 of the 4th, 54 of the 5th, 9 of the 6th, 1 nebulous.

And the stars at the Northern Hemisphere are 360 in all.

And together the fixed stars (are) 1022 in all, whereof
15 (are) of the 1st magnitude, 45 of the 2nd, 208 of the 3rd,
474 of the 4th, 217 of the 5th, 49 of the 6th, 9 dim, 5 nebulous,
and the Tress.'

Such, then, is the famous Hipparcho-Ptolemy
Star-list. It is as truly remarkable in a historical
and archaeological connexion as astronomically. No
one now will suppose that Hipparchos sat down,
commenced a series of stellar observations, and
ultimately himself compiled the entire List. Such
great achievements are more gradual; they represent
the outcome and result of centuries of slowly
maturing thought and patient observation. As the

Il8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [ill

constelLation-fi(?ures beloiifyed to Western Asia, so
Avas it the birthjilace of those ancient star-lists upon
Avhich this is founded. There "vvas no difficulty in
the matter of intercommunication. A cloud of
witnesses testify to the connexion between the
Avisdom of the East and the earlier sages of Hellas.
The treasures of the library of Alexandria, the lore
and writings of such Chaldaean sages as Kiden,
Naburianos and Soudinos (Vide Strabo, XVI. i. 6),
were at the service of Hipparchos; and the cuneiform
script itself continued to be employed down to the
commencement of the Christian era, whilst various
Orientals, of whom Berosos is a familiar example,
busied themselves in the translation of the wisdom of
the Chaldaeans into the all-pervading language of
Alexander and his successors. These external facts,
upon which scarcely sufficient stress has been laid,
are naturall}' duly corroborated by the internal
evidence, viz., by a comjaarative examination of the
astronomical and astrological writings of Hellas with
those of Western Asia. This important circumstance
will be fully appreciated by the cai'eful reader of the
foregoing notes on the several constellations. As
a remarkable illustrative instance I may mention
that ]M. Oppert has demonstrated that a passage in
the Almagest (v. 14) is actually a translation of
a cuneiform Tablet (No. 400, Strassmaier) of the
seventh year of Kambujiya (Kambyses) II., b.c. 523-2.
I do not further refer to these matters at the preseni
stage of the enquii-y; but I may mention that in
//. D. the reader will find illustrations from Baby-
lonian originals of the constellations of the Archer,
Scorjn'oii, Goat, Dog, Bull, Water-snahe, Crow,
Horse, and Claivs (Vide also sujj. p. 68). Before
journeying eastAvard we must first trace backwards

hi] the hippaecho-ptolemy star-list. I 1 9

the history of the constellation-figures in regions
Hellenic; and will next pursue the investigation
throughout the period from Eudoxos to Hesiod.

Ni)te. — ^lap of the Northei-n Hemisphere as
viewed from Phoenicia (Tj^re), B.C. 1200.

The constellations and stars as shown are : —

Buh (the Little Bear).

Duh Kabir (the Great Bear).

NdkhAsch (the Serpent).

Keph ( = ' Kepheus ').

Bouqer (the Herdsman), with the star Aish (the Bearward).

Naizer (the Northern Grown).

Harelchal ( = ' SeraMes,' the Kneeler).

Kinndr (the Lyre).

Tsippur (the Bird).

Qassiu-peaer ( = ' Kassiepeia ').

Barsav ( = ' Perseus ').

Bakkov (the Charioteer), with the star Aiz (the Goat).

Bschmun (the Snake-holder).

Khaits (the Arrow).

Nesher (the Eagle).

Nakhir (the Bolphin).

Pegah-sus (the Horse).

Addmdth ( = ' Andromeda ') .

Sholesh (the Triangle).

Teleh (the Earn).

Aleph (the Bull), with the star-cluster Jfi'ma^ (the Pleiad).

Thomini (the Twins).

Sertan (the Grab).

Layish (the Lion), with the star Melekh (the King =

Begulus) .
Hrek-hayim ( = ' Brigone,' the Virgin), with the star jZ'ent

(the Ear-of-corn = Spica).
Perosuth (the Glatvs — of the Scorpion), holding the circular

J.Ztor (iSitp. p. 69).
Aqrab (the Scorpion).
Kesil (the ''Strong ' = Orion).

Ndkhdsch Maim (' the Snake of the Waters ' = Hydra).
Asoilr (the Bowl. Vide Hesych. in voc).
Ouraib (the Grow).
Keleb Maim (' the Dog of the Waters ' = Procyon).

CHAPTER lY.

The Constellations in Greek Literature from Eudoxos
to HSsiod.

We learn from Ptolemy that cir. B.C. 283 two Greek
astronomers Aristillos and Timocharis made a cata-
logue of eighteen of the principal stars with their
declinations. The circumstance shows the activity
with which astronomical studies were pursued in
Hellas at this period, i.e., about thirteen years before
the composition of the Phainomena of Aratos ; but,
as the labours of these two observers, who probably
formed part of a far more numerous company of
students, belong rather to the subject of astronomy
proper, I pass on to Eudoxos of Knidos, a city on
the Karian coast. For, it is to be observed, that the
early Greek sages who are connected with astronomical
lore nearly all belonged to Asiatic Hellas and the
islands adjacent, an instructive and highly significant
circumstance. Thus amongst them we find Pytha-
goras of Samos, Kleostratos of Tenedos, Oinopides
of Chios, and Thales, Anaximandros, and Aristagoras
of Miletos. The early pioneers of science are
deservedly respected, since nothing is so difficult as
the beginning ; and the performances of Eudoxos,
although comparatively feeble, were relatively great.
He lived cir. b.c. 403-350, and his astronomical
works, amongst which were the Phainomena
('Heavenly Display') and the Enoptron ('Mirror'),

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 121

are lost, except so far as they have been preserved
in the Pha'uwmena of Aratos, and in the E.vegesis
('Commentary') of Hipparchos upon the combined
Phalnomena of the two earlier writers. It is sad
also to think that all the other Avorks of Hipparchos
himself, the greatest astronomer of antiquity, have
likewise perished. Cicero, in an interesting passage,
states that ' Gallus assured us [that the] solid and
compact [model] globe was a very ancient invention,
and that the first [Hellenic] model had been origin-
ally made by Thales of Miletus,' who lived cir. B.C.
636-546, and v^^as renowned, amongst other things,
for having fallen into a well whilst star-gazing (Aide
Platon, Thealtetos,lxx\:si.). ' That afterwaixls Eudoxus
of Cnidus, a disciple of Plato, had traced on its
surface the stars that appear in the sky, and that
many years subsequently, borrowing from Eudoxus
this beautiful design and representation, Aratus had '
illustrated it in his verses, not by any science of
astronomy, but by the ornament of poetic description '
(De Repuhllcu. i. 14). Aratos, then, had before him
the two prose works of Eudoxos above mentioned,
one or more star-maps with constellation-figures, and
a globe ; and from these materials, and not from any
astronomical observations of his own, he constructed
his poem. And here I may observe, that many
differences in the description of constellation-figures
which appear to be contradictory, are not really so,
inasmuch as they originate, in most cases, from the
circumstance that in one instance the figure is taken
from a star-map, in which case the stars appear as
we see them from the earth ; whilst in another the
figures may be taken from a globe, in Avhich case the
stellar positions are reversed, inasmuch as the earth,

122 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

the standpoint of the spectator, is supposed to be at
the centre of the globe, whilst actually ^ve look
at the globe from the outside. Eudoxos summarized
the astronomical observations of previous times and
of his own era; and it appears, alike from the
Fhaini)mena of Aratos and from the Exegesis of
Hipparchos, that, in his day, the names of the primi-
tive Greek constellations were the same as at present.
Sir G. C. Lewis observes that the method of Eudoxos
' Avas to conceive the starry heaven as distributed
into constellations, with recognized names, and to
define them partly by their juxtaposition, partly by
their relation to the zodiac, and to the tropical and
arctic circles . . . He gave a sort of geographical
description of their territorial position and limits,
according to groups distinguished by a common
name. The constellations had been named before
the time of Eudoxus ' {Astro)i. of the ^indents, p. 149).
Therefore, we observe that, bej'ond all question, our
familiar constellation-names existed amongst the
Greeks in the fifth century B.C. Thus we are at
once delivered from the baseless theory that Alex-
andrian poets and grammarians were in the habit of
inventing constellation-figures at their own sweet
will, and then tacking on to them any particular
myths and legends which might seem appropriate.

Platon, the master of Eudoxos, after having spoken
of sun, moon, ' and five other stars which are called
the planets,' and having described ' the fixed stars '
as ' divine and eternal animals, ever abiding and
revolving after the same manner and on the same
spot,' observes : — ' Yarn would be the labour of
telling about all the figures of them moving as in
dance ... to attempt to tell of all this without

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 23

looking at the models of them would be labour in
vain ' (Ap. Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato, iii. 622-3).
From which very interesting passage we learn three
things, (1) That he was acquainted with the figures
of the stars, i.e., the constellation-figures; (2) That
their motion was regarded as a mighty kosmic
dance, a view often brought before us by the
Tragedians, and which has an important connexion
with actual ritual; and (3) That there were in his
time models of the constellation-figures, i.e., globes
and spheres. Thus, according to Diogenes Laertios,
Anaximandros, B.C. 610-547, the immediate philo-
sophical successor of Thales, ' was the first person
[he knew of] who drew a map of the earth and
sea, and he also made a globe' (Peri JSion, ii. 3).
In statements of this kind by Classical writers the
introducer, or the popularizer, is constantly described
as the inventor. So Diogenes, in the same passage,
says that Anaximandros ' was the first discoverer
of the gnomon ; and he placed some in Lakedaimon
on the sun-dials there, and they showed the solstices
and the equinoxes.' But, as a matter of fact, Anaxi-
mandros was not ' the first discoverer of the gnomon ' ;
for, as Herodotos (ii. 109) truly says, ' The gnomon
with the division of the day into twelve parts, was
received by the Greeks from the Babylonians.' From
an early period the Asiatic Plellenes had been familiar
with maps and other representations uranographic
and geographic. Thus, Herodotos (v. 49) states that
Aristagoras j^roduced toKleomenes of Sparta 'a bronze
tablet, whereupon the whole circuit of the earth was
engraved, with all its seas and rivers.'

Before proceeding to consider the constellations
as they appear in the ' tragic triad of immortal fames,'

124 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

we may notice several other statements in this con-
nexion. Oinopides, cir. B.C. 500-430, was said by
some to have ' discovered ' the Zodiac, i.e., the
obliquity of the sun's course ; whilst others stated
that this knowledge he ' derived from Egypt.'
The first statement is historically ridiculous, the
second quite possible ; but the meaning of the
apparently absurd assertion is that Oinopides doubt-
less taught, and perhaps wrote on, this scientific fact,
the discovery of Avhich Pliny, with equal want of
wisdom, attributes to Anaximandros. Unfortunately
the Asf rolagihc' Ilisforla of Eudemos, the disciple of
Aristotle, is lost, or we should have known much
more upon all these matters. As to the Zodiac,
Pliny gravely informs us that ' Signa in eo Cleostratus
[who 'lived some time between b.c. 548 and 432 ']
et prima Arietis ac Sagittarii' {Hist. Xat. ii. 6).
He might as Avell have stated that So-and-So put
the letters in the alphabet ; but, doubtless Kleostratos
was a popularizer of the Babylonian Zodiac, which,
with its famous Twelve Signs, has been adopted by
nearly all the world. A far more important assertion,
when rightly understood, and one which was literally
received by Sir Isaac ^'ewton, is made by Clement
of Alexandria, who says : — ' Hermippos of Berytos
[cir. A.D. 100] calls Cheironthe Centaur Avise ; about
whom he that wrote The Battle of the Titans [Probably
either Arktinos, cir. B.C. 776, or Eumelos of Korinthos,
cir. B.C. 760.] says, " that he first led the race of
mortals to righteousness, by teaching them the
solemnity of the oath, and propitiatory sacrifices
and the figures of Olympos " ' {axnH-O''^' 'OXvfnrov,
Htromata., i. 15). The reading arifxaT' 'OXvjuttov has
also been suggested. Lewis (p. 76) vainly endeavours

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 25

to show that the constellations are not intended,
whilst admitting that Clement understood the passage
as referring to them. His objection that ' the third
subject of his [Cheiron's] instruction can hardly be
the forms of the constellations, which have no con-
nexion with morality ' [Italics .mine.J, is completely
answered by a perusal of tlie Poem of Aratos, where
their connexion with ' morality ' and the goodness
of the gods is remarkably set forth. But further :
this linking of ' the figures of Olympos ' with the
oath, sacrilices, and morality generally, strongly
shows the archaic character of the quotation, inas-
much as it exactly reflects tlie mental standpoint
connected with the Babylonian Boundarj'-stones,
sometimes incorrectly called ' Zodiacs,' and which
have portrayed on them sun and moon and com-
binations of constellations and other figures, sculp-
tured in their character of daimonic guardians, and
not according to uranographic position. From their
lofty heights the Host of Heaven looked down
with keen eyes upon the race of man, and either
marked his delinquencies or cheered his spirit, when
walking humbly with the gods. And Cheiron (the
' Handy,' i.e., ' Skilful ') himself, so prominently
connected in myth and legend with wisdom and
goodness, and raised to heaven as the constellational
Centaur, is but a reduplication of those Euphratean
compound figures, man-bulls and the like, in which
a superhuman combination of wit and strength is
symbolically expressed.

About the year B.C. 432 Met&n and Euktemon,
two Athenian astronomers, introduced the famous
cycle of 19 years, the iweaKaiSeKa kvkXu <paeivov rjeXioio
(Aratos, Diosemeia, 21) .; and, speaking of the origin

126 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

of the constellations, K. 0. Miiller observes that ' in
the 85th Olympiad, Euctemon was acquainted with
the Water-bearer, the Arrow, the Eagle, the Dolphin,
the Lyre, the Scorpion, and the Horse' {Scientific
Mijtliol. p. 137). We know this because G-eminos of
Rhodos, cir. B.C. 77, in his Eisagoge eis ta Phainomena,
records various observations of Euktemun in connexion
with these figui-es (Vide Petavius, Uranologion, p. 64
ef seq.). In illustration of the archaic origin of the
constellation-figures the circumstance is very impor-
tant. But it affords no assistance to the view that
they came into existence comparatively late in Greek
history. Of what value to such a theory would be
the remark that Paradise Lost shows that Milton
was acquainted with the Bull, the Snake-holder, the
Ttoins, the Grab, the Lion, the Virgin, the Scales,
<Japricorn, and the Pleiades ? If it be replied, We
know obiter that Milton was also acquainted with
other constellations, then the same rejoinder equally
applies to Euktemon. The stellar weather calendar
preserved by Geminos shows that the Athenian
astronomer was also acquainted with the Log, Orldn,
the Hyads and Pleiads, the Crown, and the Bird
(there called Iktinos = Lat. Mili/us, the ' Kite'). Yet
will anyone pretend that he did not know the Lesser
Bear, which Geminos does not connect Avith him,
but which was well known to his contemporary
countryman Euripides, although he was not an
astronomer but a poet ? It is of course obvious that
Euktemon mentions certain constellations because
they were particularly connected with meteorology;
not because they were the only ones with which he
was acquainted. If such an insignificant figure as
the Arrow was familiar to him, how certain it is that

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GRKEK LITERATURE. 12/

he knew the larger and more important Signs.
Miiller continues : — ' There is nothing mythological
in an)' of these appellations,' viz., in those of the
Water-pourer (not ' Water-bearer') and the other six
constellations above mentioned. Now it is just because
]\I tiller is so great an authority, and one ever to be
remembered with deep respect, that his singularly
erroneous views on this subject require a careful
refutation. It is quite unnecessary to notice nimi-
bers of foolish modern books about the constellations,
most of them repeating old errors, some also inventing
new ones ; but the great German savant, especially
since his conclusions were entirely accepted by such
a writer as Lewis, cannot be passed over in silence.
It is obviously incorrect that there is ' nothing
mythological ' in these names. Take e.g., the Dol-
phin : we are at once reminded of the legends and
myths of Poseidon, Arion, Palaimon, Dionysos,
ApoUon Delphinios, and the flxmous horse-headed
DemSter of Phigaleia Avho held a Dolphin in one hand.
And similar considerations apply to the other
constellation-names. He proceeds : — ' The names are,
for the most part, given to the constellations from
their figure [Italics mine. J, and also partly from their
relations to atmospherical phenomena.' Now here
I beg the reader's special attention, for we are at the
parting of the two ways, — the one leading to
Xescience disguised as knowledge, the other leading
to a knowledge of historical and psychological
development. No unprejudiced observer, having his
mind free from any special prior ideas on the subject,
would, after an examination of the stars of the Water-
pourer, Eagle, Dolphin, Lyre, and Horse, be necessaiily
reminded of these respective figures ; for the simple

128 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

reason that the natural arrangement of the stars does
not sufficiently resemble sucli forms. On this point
T appeal to heaven itself. The assertion that the
names arose from natural configuration is therefore
unprovable, absolutely baseless, and merely repeats
the fact that such names exist. The fact itself, the
real crux^ Miiller could not explain. What actually
took place was this : — The constellation-former, when
lie came to his task, had already certain figures,
which represented certain ideas, in his mind; and he
accommodated the natural arrangement of the stars
to these figures. Thus, e.g.^ he arranged the stars of
Andromeda into the representation of a chained
female, not because they naturally reminded him (or
anybod}' else) of such a figure, but because he desired
to express that idea. This explanation, which
involves a clearly intelligible mental pi-ocess from
first to last, will be abundantly demonstrated in the
sequel ; but, so far as I know, it has never yet been
clearly laid dov^^n.

1 am, of course, aware that the actual confio-uration
■of the stars naturally suggests certain figures such
as crowns, serpents, rivers, and (the two most
remarkable instances) Taurus, as a Demi-bull, and
Scorjylo. The science of language well illustrates
this feature in the origin of constellation-figures.
Thus, a considerable number of words are the direct
product of onomatopeia and interjectional cries ; but
a far larger number have been formed by an occult
imitation (Vide R. B. Jr., Language, and Theories of
Its Origin, 1881), which it will be the task of the
scientific linguistic of the future to reveal. So, a
certain number of constellations owe their origin to
the obvious suggestions offered by the starry host;

iv] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 29

but by far the greater number are formed by an
occult imitation, on lines of suggestion T\-hicli have
not hitherto been disclosed. And CA^en in the case
of obvious suggestions such as the Bull, — ' very like
him lie the stars' (Aratos, //. D. 168), — the Scorpion
or the Serpent, the particular form which the stars
seem to indicate naturally, is not accepted merely
on that account. It has also to be a figure which
has already a distinct religious or kosmical signifi-
cance in the mind of the constellation-former. As
noticed, ^Midler says that the constellation-names
were partly given in connexion with atmospherical
phenomena. This is true as regards the Water-
pourer, but how Miiller could have known it to be
true I am not aware. Speaking of Aquarius Prof.
Sayce remarks, ' Babylonia is still reduced to an
impassable marsh by the rains of January ' {Astron.
and Astrol. of the Bahs. in Trans. Soc. Bib. Archaeol.
iii. 164). But the names Arrow, Eagle, Dolphin, Lyre,
Scorpion, and Horse, are not in anyway connected
with such phenomena. Miiller continues : — ' The
M^, although not mentioned by any ancient poet
[How can he tell ? The greater part of ancient
poetry is lost. J, must have received that name hefore
the time of Cleostratus, who placed the Kid beside
it. It is obvious that he supposed the name to
signify "goat," whereas it originally denoted the
'' storm-star." ' Now the Aix is not a constellation,
but a particular star, Capella (a Aurigae) ; and
therefore even if he were right about the original
meanino- of the name, it would not assist his state-
ment that the names of constellations were often
given in connexion with atmospherical phenomena.
The ignorant Kleostratos did not even, it seems,

9

130 TRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

know the meaning of so common a Greek word as
atf ! If any man can believe this, let him believe it.
Buttmann, to whom Miiller appeals in support of
this remarkable statement, merely says (in Ideler,
titernnamen, p. 309) that Aix practically meant
' Sturmwind,' just as 047 1? came to mean a 'rushing
storm.' He does not deny that at|^ means 'goat'
(Cf. HOrod. iv. 189). Thus :\Ir. L. R. Farnell
observes, ' We have the title /xeXdvaLyK; applied to
Dionysos, and, as this god has much to do Avith
goats and nothing at all with whirlwinds [This is
incorrect, vide Ii. B. Jr., (r. D. 31. ii. 19. j it could
only (?) mean '"the wearer of the black goat-skin,"
and it is so explained by the Scholiast on Aristo-
phanes, ^c/iar». 146' (Culfs of the Gk. States, i. 97).
But, to go to the root of the matter, Avithout further
detail at this point in the enquiry, one of the names
of the star Capella at Babylon was Ashar ; and
Askar 'was really a Sumerian word for '"goat"'
(Hommel, in Proc. S. B. A. Jan. 1S96, p. 20 ; as to
the Storm-goat, vide inf. p. 218). ^Miiller may truly
say that the Aix received its name ' before ' the time
of Kleostratos. He continues : — ' Its mythological
reference afterwards arose out of this misconception.'
But, as we have seen, there was no misconception.
Everyone knew that ' Goat ' meant ' goat.' Possibly
it may be objected that Capella was called the Goat
at Babylon by a remarkable accidental coincidence,
just as the Xorth American Indians call the seven
TF-rm-stars the Bear. I therefore add that in the
Babylonian sphere the Chariot {= Auriga) adjoined
the Bull and the Gaat-siav (Vide E. B. Jr., The
Connexion hetireen Babylonian and Greek Astronomy,
in The Academy, Nov. 10, 1894) ; and, on the

IVj THE COXSTKLLATIONS IN GREEK LITEHATURE. I3I

]*>abylonian luonumentsi, the Olenian Goat (Vide
inf. p. 'I'll) appears cai'ried on the arm of" a divinity
(Vide 11. B. Jr., E. S. Jl. Pt. i. Fig. v. p. 24). And
this disposes of the next and last mistake of Miiller
in this connexion. He says, ' The awkward collo-
cation of many of these forms, and the strange way
in which they cross each other [They do not cross
each other.] — the Goat and Auriga for instance, seem
to indicate a rariety of sources.' Additional comment
is needless.

In further illustration of the principles employed
in the forming and naming of constellations, I Avill
take the instance of the Arrou-, which, as we have
seen, was known to Euktemon, and is mentioned by
Miiller in support of his theory. There was, he says,
' nothing mythological ' about it, and it Avas named
from its ' figure.' If any constellation could support
this view, surely the Arrow would. In the Hipparcho-
Ptolemy Star-list it consists of five stars, fairly in a
line (A'ide sup. p. 44), and, according to Oilfiller,
some unknown observer remarked these par-
ticular stars, then thought they resembled an arrow
(which to a certain extent they actually do), and
then grouped them together in a constellation called
the Arrow, an appellation which all the world
accepted. On reflection we observe that this really
tells ns nothing except what we already knew, i.e.,
that these stars form a constellation called the Arrov.
But, it may be asked, Why did not the observer
regard these particular stars as resembling a spear
or a sceptre? In the abstract he might just as well
have done so. To such a question no answer is
possible on the part of Miiller and his followers.
They could only repeat, as usual making capital of

9 *

132 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

nescience as if it were knowledge, that the whole
circumstance was an accident of fancy ; it chanced
that the constellation-maker selected an aiTOw.
From this vicious circle we escape at once as soon
as we know the real fact of the case, v'.f., that the
Arrow is supposed to be shot from the bow of the
Kneeler amongst the Birch. Hence, although
apparently so insignificant a constellation, it is as old
as the Kneeler., of which Aratos saj'S,

' Of it can no one clearly speak,
Nor to what toil lie is attached ; but, simply,
Kneeler they call him ' (H. D. 64-6) .

It was an archaic Sign the primitive history of which
had then long since faded from general memory.
Now we see that there was no accident of fancy in
the selection of an arrow, instead of a spear or a
sceptre ; and it will be observed that in the stellar
description the point of the Arroir is, as of course,
turned from the Kneeler. In the abstract, it might
just as Avell have been turned either Avay. So we see
that in this crucial instance, which at first sight
appears fully to support ]\Iiiller's view, his theory
breaks down altogether. The Arrow has a mytho-
logical reference, and it is not named from its
' figure ' ; but, in accordance with the principle I
have laid down, the constellation-maker accommo-
dated the natural arrangement of the stars to a
certain particular idea previously existing in his
mind (As to the Arrow, vide also Sem. pp. 1G3-4).

Euripides, B.C. 480-406, very properly places 'the
dwelling of Atlas ' {Herak. Mainom. 405), = Ph. Atel
(' the Darkness.' Yide Sayce, Herod, p. 416) in the
west {Cf. Hippol. 1053 ; vide inf. p. 139). It is the
Darkness which rai,ses, makes visible, and sustains on

IV] THE CONSTELLATION'S IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 33

high 'the sphere of the shuiing stars' {Orestes^ 1685),
which formed the frame of Argos, ' the all- seeing,
gazing with spangled eyes, some eyes beholding at
the rising of stars, and others closed at their setting '
{Pholm's. 1115-17). This ' star-faced ether of Zeus is
wont to dance' {I611, 1078-9), to take part in the
great kosmic nature-dance (Vide suj). p. 123; R. B. Jr.,
G. D. M. i. 103 et seq.) ; and human dancing is, to a
large extent, imitative, and sacred or semi-sacred in
origin. The sun ' cuts his way through the stars of
heaven ' {Plioinis. 1), /.e., through the Signs of the
Zodiac, to the obliquity of which (Vide sup. p. 124),
connected in legend with the crimes of Atreus and
Thyestes, the poet also refers. ' Then, in truth, Zeus
changed the shining paths of the stars and the light
of the sun' {Elel: 727-9; Cf. Orestes, 1001-10). He
mentions the constellation of the Tin'iis: 'Kastor and
Polydeuk^s in the clefts of the sky ' {Ibi'd. 1636),
'the Tyndaridai, sons of Zeus,' in ' the sphere of the
shining stars' {Ibid. 1685-9). Also the two Bears:
' Twin Bears with the swift- wandering rushings of
their tails guard the Atlanteian pole' (Peirithous,
Frag. iii. ap. Clem. Alex. Stromata^ v. 6), a piece of
grandiloquent inappropriateness, as the motion of the
Bears is ' slow and solemn,' and they are by no
means ' twins.' In another passage (luii, 1141-58),
he describes 'sacred tapestries,' 'spoils of the
Amazons,' i.e., connected with the non-Aryan east,i
with figures wrought on them a marvel to
behold, such as ' Heaven collecting the stars in the

1 ' The Amazons were tlie warrior priestesses of the great
Asiatic goddess, whom the Greeks called the Artemis of Ephesos,
and who was in origin the Istar of Babylonia modified a little
hy Hittite influence ' (Sayce, Bel. And. Bobs. p. 235).

134 PRIMITIVK CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

circle of ether,' the Sun, Hesperos, ' black-robed
Xight ' followed by the stars, of which he names ' the
P/e/flci' (nxem?), ' SAVord-bearing Orluii^^ the Bear
(— Ursa Mi(j.) and the Hijades. These latter stars
he is stated to have said in the Phaethoii were three
in number (Schol. in Arat. Phainom. 12). Euripides,
like Ptolemy in his Star-list, uses the term ' Pleiad '
for the group of the seven PUnades regarded
collectively. Elsewhere he speaks of ' the Pleiad
with-seven-paths ' [Oreste.'<, 1005; Ipli. en Anl. S),
and 'the central Pleiades {Ilele)}^, 1489), in allusion
to their position in the heavens. He applies the
feeble epithet ' nightly ' to (Jrum (Piid. 1490). The
sword of Orion, 'ensifer Orion ' (Ovid, Past/', iv. 38<S),
equally appears in Aratos {Phainovi. 588) and in the
Hipparc-ho-Ptolemy Star-list. Seiri'os is mentioned
{Iph. en Aid. 7) as being 'near' to the I'leiad; and
in another passage (Plelc. 468) Pleiads and Hyads are
named together in Homeric fashion, as wrought upon
the shield of Achilleus.

0. Midler, speaking of the Family-group {Kepheus,
Kassiepeia, Andromeda, and Perseus), says, — ' These
constellations were not known to Greek poetry
before the time of Alexander, and no trace of them
can be pointed out until they make their appearance
on the sphere of Eudoxus described by Aratus ; ' and
adds, ' To me it seems probable that by these names
... it was meant to translate Chaldean [he should
have said ' Phoenician '] appellations.' As Eudoxos
died cir. B.C. 350, these four 'grouped constellation-
figures with names originally non- Hellenic were not
first brought from the East by anyone in the train
of Alexander ; nor did Eudoxos originate them any
more than Homer or Hesiod originated Orhni. If it

IV] THE COXSTELLATIOXS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 35

were a fact that they ' were not known to Greek
poetry before the time of Alexander,' then, inasmuch
as most of this poetry is lost, we could never know
that this fact was true. But is this a fact, and do
they suddenly appear on the sphere of Eudoxos
without leaving any prior trace? Certainly not.
Sophokles and Euripides each wrote a play called
Andromeda, and the author of the Katasterismoi
states (cap. xvi.), that Sophokles related how
Kassiepeia had boasted that she was more beautil'ul
than the Nereids ; and afterwards (cap. xxxvi.),
when speaking about the Sea-monster which, he
says, Poseidon sent to Kepheus on account of the
boast of Kassiepeia, adds: 'But Perseus slew it, and

on this account et? to, aarpa ireOT], {nr6/J,vrifj,a ri}?
Trpa^ecd? avrov. ' Icrropel 8e ravTa So(pOK\rj<; iv rf/

'Av8po/j,eSa.' So Hyginus {Poet. Astron. ii. 10) says
that concerning Kassiepeia, ' Euripides et Sophocles
et alii complures dixerunt ut gioriata sit se forma
Nereidas praestare : pro quo facto inter sidera sedens
in siliquastro constituta est : quae propter impietatem
vertente se mundo resupinato capite ferri videtur.'
The only fair construction of the above passages is
that Sophokles and Euripides knew of the constella-
tional Sea-monster and Kassiepeia. So of Andromeda,
Hyginus {Poet. Astron. ii. 11) says that ' Minervae
beneficio inter astra collocata propter Persei virtutem
.... sed de hac Euripides hoc eodem nomine
fabulam commodissime scribit.' Of course if Euri-
pides knew of the constellational Kassiepeia, he
was almost certain to know of the constellational
Andromeda, and so it is evident that he did.

That Kepheus and Perseus were known as con-
stellation-fiQ;ures to Hellenic writers of the fifth

136 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

century B.C., follows almost as of course ; and indeed
Euripides susrgestively introduces on the circumfer-
ence of the shield of Achilleus Perseus holding
the Gorgon's head {Eleh 459-61).

Constellation-names, naturally enough, are not
found plentifully in the works of poets, especially in
the case of a poet most of whose works have been
lost. "VVe possess seven plays of Sophokles, B.C.
495-406, and the titles of about 119 of his lost
plays. For aught we know, he may have specified
every primitive constellation of the Greeks, although,
of course, this is exceedingly improbable. But, by
great good fortune, a fragment of the Xauplios
Avhich has come down to us, is of the highest impor-
tance in the present connexion. It is quoted by
Achilleus Tatios, Eisaguge eis ta Aratou Phainomena^
cap. i. The name of Nauplios (' Navigator ') is
naturally attached to several personages in Greek
mythico-historic legend, two of whom are confounded
together by Strabo (VIII. vi. 2), who also draws
some erroneous conclusions from his own mistake.
Nauplios, son of Poseidon, reputed founder of
Nauplia (Pans. II. xxxviii. 2), the port of Argos,
and called by some the originator of the constellation
Ursa Maj. (Theon, in Arat. Phainom. 27), is a repre-
sentative of Phoenician knowledge and colonization.
Another Nauplios, a similar personage, is styled king
of Euboia and father of PalamedCs (Apollod. II. i. 5),
one of the most interesting figures in Greek mythico-
historic legend. In the passage in question Nauplios
is thus made to speak of him : —

Ouro? B'e(})evpe relxo'i 'Apyecayv a-rparw
aTadjiSiv, dpidfiMv koI /Merpcov evprjfjiaTa'
KaKelu ejev^e irpcoTO^ e^ ei^o? Se/ca,

IV] THK CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITEEATUrvE. 1 37

Kaic TMvSe y avOK evpe •7revT7]KovTdSa<;
ei9 %tA.t ■ ovTO<; el? aTparai ^pvKrwpiav
vTTvov (f)vXa^ei<i, e? 6 ea> a-rjfJ.dvTpt.a
'eSetfe Kdve<prjv€v ov 8eSeL'y/j,eva'
'e^evpe B'dcTTpav fierpa koI ■Tvepidrpo^d';,
Ta^ei<; re TavTWi, ovpdvid re (yrifiaTa,
va5iv re Troifiavrrjpaiv ivdaXaaaiwv
"ApKTOV arpo^di re Kal Kuz^o; ■\frv)(pdv Svaiv.

Strabo (XVI. ii. 24) sums up the unhesitating
opinion of antiquity in his dictum that ' astronomy
and arithmetic came to the Hellenes from the
Phoenicians.' He says that the latter people were
led, naturally enough, to study these sciences from
their commercial accounts and sailings by night ;
and here, in exact accordance with this view, we
lind the arts of fortification, in which the Phoenicians
excelled, of numbers and arithmetic, of military
watch and ward, of navigation, and of astronomy,
including the dividing of the stars into constellation al
groups and the naming of such groups, ascribed to
Palamedes, a grandson of the Phoenician Poseidon
(Euripides, Iph. en Aid. 198). Homer is silent
concerninff the hero, and for this two reasons at once
present themselves, (1) the death of Palamedes
occurred prior to the opening of the Iliad ; and (2)
the poet ' sang for the glory of Greece ' (Gladstone,
Juventus Ifundi, p. 145) ; and Palamedes, a personage
in many points superior to the Hellenic heroes, and,
according to legend, infamously treated by them,
and particularly by the poet's favourite Odysseus
(Vide Hyginus, Fab. cv.) would naturally be some-
what avoided by a very pati-iotic Hellene. Like his
father Nauplios, Palamedes, as representing the
historical Phoenician element in Hellas, is in almost

138 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

constant collision with the more purely Greek element,
by which he is eventually overcome. But, although
HoTXier ignores him, Polygnotos did not. In his
mighty picture of the Under-world, perhaps the
tinest painting ever made, and which adorned the
Lesche at Delphoi (Vide E. B. Jr., TelUs and
Kleohela, 1895), the Thasian master represented
Palamedes playing at dice, a sport which he was
said to have invented (Pans. II. xx. 3), ' with Sala-
minian Alas and ThersitSs ' (Ibid. X. xxxi. 1). And
what is Palamedgs but the Ph. BAAL-MIDDOtP
('Loi'd-ot'-the-^Ieasure'), god of numbers, figures,
weights, scales, dice, letters, arithmetic, astronomy,
etc. ; and the latter part of whose name was under-
stood as meaning ' the Wise ' (Cf. Medeia, ' the
Wise '-woman). In Gk. legend he is particularly
connected Avith the invention of the letters 6, <j}, %,
and ^ (Vide Canon Is. Taylor, The Alphahet^ I880,
ii. 70). Another somewhat similar personage is
Aga (= Aryan root rt/i, 'to pierce,' 'to be sharp ')-
medus (Sem. 'the Great-measurer,' Gk. 'the Aery-
wise ') who represents Phoenician constructive ability
in Boiotia, and who forms with Trophonios {== Baal
Troplia, ' the Lord of Cure,' vide Berard, Cultes Ar.
p. 293), the Pair of god and god-introducer.

In the last line of the passage from the Xaiipliof^
SophoklSs sums up the astronomical aspect of the
matter, by naming the Bear as protagonist of the
northern, and the Dog on behalf of the southern con-
stellation-figures ; and it Avill be observed that he
speaks not of Seirios^ generally merely the Dog-star,
but oi Kuun, the constellation, Avhose/'r////rfw?ft occasum
on the seventh day of Sagittarius^ accompanied by

^ So I'al-aimon = Baal-hamon.

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LTTEEATUKE. 139

tempest, had been noted by Euktemon (A'ide
< ieminos, lu'saf/uj/c e/'s ta Fhaiiiom. Cap. xvi. Calendar).
The Androme(l(( of Sophokli^s has been ah-eady
referred to (Vide sup. p. 135). In an uncertain
Frac/ment, quoted by HCsychios (in voc. Se/n'os) he
alluded to the constellation of the Doc/ ; and, in the
face of the evidence, is there any room for doubting
whether he and Euripidrs, contemporaries of
Enktemon, were acquainted Avith the primitive con-
stellations of the Greeks ?

According to Aischylos, B.C. 5^5-456, Atlas (Vide
si/j). p. 132), the Titan, sire of 'the seven wingless
Peleiades ' {HelutJes, Frag, vii.), groans beneath the
weight of ' the heavenly sphere ' [Pruvi. Def<. 435-9).
The fact that the great toil of Atlas (the ' Darkness ')
makes his starry children the Pleiad sisters, whose
name he playfully connects with irekua ( ' ring-dove'),
visible, is clearly present to the poet's mind, fie'yuaTov

a6\ov . . . 'ivda vvKTepwv t^avraafiaTaiv e-)(ov(Ti, ixop<^a^.

Elsewhere he alludes to ' the setting of the Pleiades '
{Ag. 799); and their central position in the heavens
(Vide sup. p. 134), and great general importance
(Vide ivf. p. 270), peculiarly connect them with the
famous Sphere-supporter. The poet refers to ' the
myriad-eyed herdsman' [Prom. Des. 581), 'the earth-
born Argos ' {Ihiil. 579 ; vide sup. p. 133), so called
since the great majority of the stars rise from and
sink again to the Under-world ; and gives the starry
heaven as a shield-device (^Ilepta epi The. 383). In
another passage he alludes to one chief point of
interest which the stars possessed for early observers,
' The host of the nightly stars, the bright powers
bringing winter and summer to mortals' (^49'. 4-5).
He connects ' the dog Seirios ' with heat {Ihid. 940).

140 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

With Aischylos it is the Titan Prometheus (' Fore-
thought ' personified), brother of Atlas, who reveals
to man ' the risings of the stars and their settings
hard-to-discern,' as a means whereby they may have
sure sign of winter, flowery spring, and fruitful
summer. He, too, discovered numbers, letters, the
steed-drawn chariot, ships, and the arts of divination,
in fact ' all arts for mortals are from Prometheus '
(Vide Prom. I)es. 462-514), who is thus a combina-
tion of Kadmos, Palamedes and the wisdom of the
Semitic east generally. Brother of the Ph. Atel, the
prototype of his story was Babylonian. Lugai-tudda
('the Lusty-king ') ' brought the lightning, the fire of
heaven, from the gods to men, giving them at once
the knowledge of fire and the power of reading the
future in the flashes of the storm. Like Prometheus,
therefore, he was an outcast from the gods. He had
stolen their treasures and secret wisdom, and had
communicated them to mankind. In Babylonia, as
in Greece, the divine benefactor of primitive humanity
was doomed to suffer' (Sayce, Pel. And. Bahs. p. 294).
The view Avhich connects the name 'Titan' with
tItu^ = ^acriXev^ and riTrjvTj ^ ^acriX.i'i is altogether
imsatisfactory. In Sanchouniathon i. 4, Philon of
By bios translates by Ttrai/e? a term which in the
original was almost certainly ' Nephilim ' (' Giants.'
Cf. Gen. vi. 4 ; vide Bunsen, E(iypfs Place, iv. :222 ;
Lenormant, Les Origines, i. 541 ) ; and, on the whole,
it is more than probable, that, from the Greek point
of view, the name, is, in accordance with the old
Hesiodic derivation {Theogonla, 207) connected with
Avords meaning ' stretched,' ' extended,' etc., but in
height, /.e., as being of gigantic stature, not with
reference to outstretched hands, a circumstance not

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. I4I

in accordance witli the Hesiodic story; nor, ajrain. has
the name any reference to stretching a bow (Vide
Etijmol Mag. in voc. Titanes). In Euphratean archaic
myth king Etanna (' Sire-of-heaven') had once ruled
in the Upper-world ; and his ' phantom was believed
to sit, crowned, on a throne in Hades along with the
shades of the other heroes of old time' (Smith and
Sayce, Chal. Ac. Gen. p. 141). ' He seems to be the
Titan of the (^reek writers ' {Ibid. p. 146), i.e.,
Alexander Polyhistor, Eusebios, etc.; and his position
with his fellows reminds us of the Homeric ' ffods
below that are around Kronos ' {11. xiv. 274), ' those
below Tartaros that are called Titans' {Ibid. 279). It
is quite possible that the form Etan{na) may reappear
as Gk. T-itan., for an added initial consonant is bj^
no means unusual in Greek transcriptions, p.(/., the Sem.
Yu(}l = Gk. AtaX (tiesychios), Sem. 'Ati = Gk. Va.Ti<;.

Prof. D'Arcy Thompson is of opinion that the
passage in which Aischylos speaks of two eagles
attacking a hare {Aij. 117) has an astronomical basis,
and primarily alludes to the constellations the Eagle ,
the Vulture (= the Lyre), and the Hare; and he
refers in illustration to ' the two eagles that devour
the Hare on the famous decadrachm of A grigentum '
{Bird and Beast in And. Symbolism., p. 187). This
is quite possible, and the design of two eagles
attacking a prostrate hare is Euphratean (Vide
Perrot and Chipiez, Hist, of Art in Chaldaea and
Assyria, Vol. ii. Fig. 219). Aratos notes that the
Hare rises when the Eagle sets {H.D. 591, 594-5)^
and sets when the Eagle rises {Ibid. 677-8, 690-1).

The references to stars and constellations scattered
here and there throughout the fragments of early
Hellenic literature, tragic, lyric, and historic, forcibly

142 PRIMITIVE COXSTELLATIONS. [iV

sugn^est that many other similar allusions existed in
works now lost. JSTo strictly astronomical versifier
appeared before Aratos, and no one else would be
likely to have given a complete, or even a full list of
the heavenly Signs. Any poem which did so must
necessarily have been as unpoetical as most of the
Phahiomena itself. For the mere string of names,
and probably also for the constellations as such,
many a bard cared as little as AnakreAn, B.C. 563-478,
or some Anakreontic writer, when he desires that on
his drinking-cup may be embossed ' neither stars nor
Wain^ nor the doleful {arvyvov) Or'ion^ and asks:
' What care I for the Pleiades '? what for the fair
[/.e., 'bright'] PlowjJiman ^ '' (Tide Bergk, Poetue
Lijrici Grtteii, iii. 1048). He prefers Mainads, graj^e-
clusters, and the like. But even he observed the
stellar sky at times, and elsewhere sings : —

Metroi'L'KTtot? ttot' copa.K

ZiTpe<f)€Tai, OT "ApKTO<; ijSrj

Kara %€tpa rrjv Bomtou (Ibid. p. 1061),

And, if it be remarked that endless mention is made
of Pleiades and ]Ii/((des, and Oreuii, and the Bear,
and PI()i/</hm(in, let it be remembered that, if now,
we ask anyone on a starry night to point out con-
stellations, he is almost sure to begin with the Jleur,
and perhaps will recognize the AV of Kassiepe/n or
the Belt of Ovwn, if in sight, and then probably stops
short, although many other Signs are visible. And,
again, how few stars and constellations are mentioned
by the modern poet. Sapp]i*'i {Frag. Iviii. ap. Bergk)
appears to refer to the constellational Andromeda
Avhen she says : —

"^X^'' M'^" Ai/Spo/xeSo. KoXav afioi^av.

Such a subject was not foreign to her poetry, for in

IV ] THE CONSTELLATIOXS IN GEF.EK LITERATUKE. 1 43

another place {Frag, lii.) she speaks of aekdwa koI
HXijtaSe^, and the ' recompense ' which Andromeda
received was her permanent translation to the skies.
Pindar, a Boiotian, mentions the Boiotian OriAn,
and in his constellational character ; — ' It is natural
that not far from the Peleiaden Oar ion should advance'
(Nemeon. ji. 17-18). The passage is quoted in Athe-
naios, xi. 80, in which, and in caps. 81-2, are given
many quotations from the poets respecting the
Pleiades. Amongst other authors referred to are
the Byzantine poetess Myru, cir. B.C. 330, the
Rhodian poet Simnnas, cir. B.C. 310, 'and the author
of the poem called Astronomy, which is attributed
to Hesiod.' Elsewhere {Dithyramhoi, Frag, iv.)
Pindar refers to the chase of Pleione, mother of the
Pleiads (Vide Athen. xi. 79) by Orion and his
Dog (A'ide Etymol. Mu(j. in voc. Pleias, where the
passage of Pindar is cited). Theognis, B.C. .")44,
alludes to the constellation of the Boy (1. 1040, ap.
Bergk, ii. 548). Simonides of Keos, B.C. 556-467,
sings how ' Atlas was the sire of seven daughters
with -violet -locks, who are called the heavenly
Peleiades ' {Frag, xviii. ap. Bergk). In 1S55
^lariette ' in sepulchro quod fuit hand ita procul
a secunda Pyramide,' found a fragment of Alkman,
who 'flourished from about 671 to about 631 B.C.,'
in which is a passage {Frag. xvi. ap. Bergk) con-
necting the '■Peleiades' Avith Orthia, i.e., the Semitic
Artemis, and with "the plough' {(}}dpo<; = a.porpov)J
So Aratos : —

1 In tlie same passage Alkman alludes to ttoikiXo's SpaKwv
Trayxpya-ioi, which may pei'haps, especially since the Pleiades are
mentioned, refer to Draco. But, as Bergk observes, ' difficillima
haec carmina.'

144 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

' Zeus bade them show when winter first begins,
And summer, and the season of the plough ' {H. B. 266-7).

In another passage {Frag, xxxii.) Alkman writes : —

(^'ApKTOv B') eV apcarepa XVpo^ ^X'^'^'

a good illustration of the way in which Homeric

descriptions and expressions were perpetuall}^ referred

to and repeated (Vide Od. v. 277 ; inf. p. 252).

Alkaios, B.C. 610, writes, eVel kuI KecpdXav Kol lyova

^eipio^ a^ei (Frag, xxxix.). These words also occur
in Hesiod, Frga, 587, and some think were there
inserted from Alkaios. Stesichoros, B.C. 632-560,
sang of Kyknos, who opposed Herakles and was
placed amongst the stars as the Siran, hut as his poem,
which was called Kyknos, is lost, we are unable to
say that the hero was alluded to in a constellational
aspect. It is practically certain that the mass of
stories in late writers, such as Ovid, which relate
the translation to the stars of different well-known
mythological personages, were, in all instances,
founded upon similar statements of earlier Avriters,
most of which have not come down to us. As
Stesichoros sang of Kyknos (the 'Swan'), so the
great Boiotian poetess Ivorinna, B.C. 500, the con-
queror of Pindar, hymned the mighty Boiotian hero
Orion (Vide Frags, ii., iii., ap. Bergk) ; but, here
again, we are equally ignorant of details.

Turning from the lyric writers to the earlier his-
torians, we find that Hekataios of Miletos, who died
cir. B.C. 476, like many other 'poets and prose-writers
about archaic myths,' treated of 'the Lernaian
Hydra,' rov adXov tov 'KpaKXeLov (Aelian, Peri Z66n,
ix. 23). Most students are aware that early
mention is made of all, or of nearly all, of the con-
stellation-figures ; but what is generally asserted

iv] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GKEEK LITERATURE. 1 45

(without any evidence, and, as Avill appear from the
present investigation, in direct opposition to a vast
mass of evidence) is that the constellation-figures are
not mentioned as such ; but that, e.g., Hydra was
made a constellation long after the time of liekataios,
and is merely spoken of by him as a terrestrial ser-
pent or monster. As I have often to observe in these
cases, inasmuch as the original account is lost, it is
impossible to say with absolute certainty how the
subject was treated. But a single collateral illustra-
tion, one borrowed from art, will show how probable
it is that the constellation Hydra was perfectly
familiar to Hekataios. Amongst the most ancient
cities of Krete was Phaistos (Cf. H. ii. 648), which
' was said to have been one of the three founded by
Minos' (Leake, Xumis. Hellen. in voc. Phaestus).
One of its coin-types, in use ' Circ. B.C. 431-300,'
represents ' Herakles, striking with club at Hydra ;
at his feet, crab; over his arm, lion's skin' (Wroth,
Brit. Mus. Cat. of Gh. Coins of Crete and the Aegean
Islands, p. 62). According to Pausanias (II. vi. 3),
Phaistos was regarded as a son of Herakles, who
migrated to Krete from Sikj'on, at which place he
had taught the people to sacrifice to Herakles, not
as a hero, but as a god (Ibid. x. 1). The meaning
of such traditions is perfectly simple. The cult of
the foreign and Phoenician Herakles, opponent of
monsters, obtained in remote times at the Kretan
city of Phaistos. On the mainland at first only
lower honours were paid to this divinity. As every
coin-type, long ere it Avas used as such, must have
been familiar to the special locality which adopted it,
the combination of Heraldes, Lion-shin, Hydra, and
Crab must have been familiar at Phaistos at least as

10

146 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

early as B.C. 500, and doubtless for centuries before
that time. But the constellational combination of
X/rt», Water-snake and Crab had admittedly been
known in Hellas ' before the time of'Eudoxos ' (Vide
sup. p. 122), and was familiar to the Greeks of the fifth
century B.C. ; therefore there is an undoubted con-
nexion between the coin-t3-pe and the constellational
combination.^ If, then, the constellational aspect of
the myth was familiar to the fifth century, it was in
all probability known by the accomplished Hekataios,
who, as an Asiatic Greek, had excellent opportunity
of being acquainted with astronomical myths origi-
nally derived from foreign sources. I have treated
of this reference to the writings of Hekataios with
some particularity, because precisely the same con-
siderations apply to many other passages in, or
references to, the Avorks of early writers, where
constellation-figures are mentioned without beins:,
to our knowledge, expi'essly described as such.

Ilellanikos of Mytilene, cir. B.C. 496-411, in the
first book of his Atlantias, which contained the
history of Atlas and his descendants, stated that his
daughters Taygete, ]Maia, and Elektra wedded with
Zeus, Alkyonc and Kelaino with Poseidon, SteropG
with ArOs, and the seventh, Merope, with Sisyphos,
a mortal, 'on account of which she was dim' (dfiavpav).
These are the names of the seven Pleiads, as given
by Aratos. He adds that the Hj-ades were so called
' from the figure of the arrangement of the stars,'
which is not unlike the letter v, ' or because at their
rising and setting Zeus rains ' {Frag. Ivi.). Thus, at

1 That there was an exceedingly dose connexion between
coin-types and constellation-figures will appear very clearly in
the course of the enquiry (Vide inf. Chap. V.).

IV ] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE I 47

an early period, all these stars had been carefully
observed, and even the ' dark sister ' of the Pleiads
had a special story of her own. It is quite certain
that persons Avho were very familiar with stellar-
combinations like the Hyads and Pleiads, would not be
Ignorant of a number of other such groups, most of
which w^ere chiefly formed of stars larger than the
Clusterers. According to one version of the myth,
these lost their brilliancy on seeing the destruction
of Troia (Vide Servius, in Ver. Geory. i. 138). It
is noticeable that stellar personages are nearly always
connected in some way with the Semitic element.
Thus Elektra is mother of Harmonia (Diod. Sik. v.
48), wife of Kadmos, and, according to Hellanikos
[Frag, cxxix.), the Elektran gates at Thebai were
named after her ; whilst Hyas, mythic sire of the
Jlyades, is married to Boiotia, and was regarded as
the sire of the Hyantes (Vide Pliny, Hist. Xat.
iv. 12), who were said to have been defeated by
Kadmos and his Phoenician army (Pans. IX. v. 1).

Pherekydes of Athens, who ' flourished ' i3.c. 500-
450, and Euphorion in the third century B.C., relate
that ' Orion, when hunting with Artemis, endea-
voured to offer her violence. The goddess was
angry and sent from the earth a scorpion, which,
having fastened upon the joints of his neck, slew
him; but Zeus in pity placed him amongst the stars.
Therefore when the Scorpion rises, (Ji'lon sets '
(Schol. in Horn. //. xviii. 486). The story is repeated
by Aratos (Phainom. 636-46). Achaios of Eretria,
the tragic poet, who was born B.C. 484, and Phere-
kydes, reckoned seven Hyades (Schol. in Arat.
Phalnom. 172) ; and the group is at present called
' a cluster of seven stars in the BidVs head.' Five

10 *

148 TRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

Ilyades, Phaisule, Koronis, Kleeiii, Phaio, and
Eudore, were named in the Astronumia attributed
to H^siod (Schol. in Ar at. Phainum. 172, 254); and
the Ilyades are five in number in the Hipparcho-
Ptolemy Star-list, i.e., a, e, y, and the groups of
8^ and ^i, Tauri: Mousaios, also, is said to have
reckoned five Hyades (Jbid.). Pherekj'des mentioned
the Croicn (Schol. Od. xi. 320), which was given by
Dionysos to Ariadn^.

Thales, cir. b.c. 636-546, was ' of the family of the
Thelidai, who are Phoinikians by descent, among
the most noble of all the descendants of Kadmos and
Ag^nor ['the Mighty-one,' i.e., the god Baal], as
Platon testifies. He was the first man to whom
the name Wise was given ... As some people
state, he left no writings. For the book On Naval
Astronomy, Avhich is attributed to him, is said really
to be the work of Phokos the Samian. But Kallima-
chos was aware that he was the discoverer [i.e.,
a prominent introducer of the practical use] of the
Lesser Bear (Vide Kallim. Fray. xciv. ; Ai'atos,
Phainom. 39-44) . . . He is said to have been the first
[amongst the Greeks] who [scientifically] studied
astronomy, and who foretold the eclipses and motions
of the sun, as Eudemos relates in his history of the
discoveries made in astronomy ; on which account
Xenophanes and Hcrodotos praise him greatly'
(Diogenes Laertios, Thales). Herodotos (i. 170)
styles him ' a man of Miletos, of Phoinikian descent.'
It is very unfortunate that the works of Phokos and
EudSmos are lost. Thus, the Phoenician- sprung
Thales, to quote the words of Delambre, ' passe pour
le fondateur de I'astronomie grecque ' {Ilistoire de
I'Astronomie Ancienne, i. 13). Diogenes also states

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITEEATUKE. 1 49

that, according- to some, Thales 'wrote two books,
and no more, about the solstice and the equinox,
thinking that everything else was easily to be
comprehended.' ' He said that the Hyades were two,
the Northern-one [^ e Taun] and the Southern-one'
(Schol. in Arat. Phainom. 172), i.e., Aldeharan, a Tauri.
No fact in connexion with early Greek astronomy is
more familiar than that ThalC-s induced the Hellenes
to steer by Ursa JL'n. instead of looking to Ursa
Mdj., and thus, in a sense, he 'discovered' the former
constellation. It is quite clear that this great sage, of
Phoenician descent, and evidently versed in the
v/isdom of his ancestors, a man who gained immense
renown by his famous and correct prediction of an
eclipse (Herod, i. 74), and who was the founder of
scientific Greek astronomy, who was acquainted with
the (two) 1/i/ades and the Little Bear under those
names, must have known of the other primitive
constellations of the Greeks. Philon of Byblos, Avho
translated the work of Sanchouniathon On the
Phoenician Letters^ in a passage preserved in
Eusebios {Prop. Euan. i. 10), says, ElpTjTat Be rj/xXv
irepl avTov iv rot? e-m'ypa^ouevoi'i irepl '^awaiuv. As
Lenormant observes, ' Les iecodia sont manifestement
les signes celestes, etkiith, hebr. dthoth ' {Les Oriffi7ies,
i, 552). The Phoenician treatises on the constella-
tion-figures, like the works of Phokos and Eudemos,
have perished ; and it is this loss of nearly all the
early authorities which compels us to demonstrate
the knowledge of the ancients on the subject by the
laborious piecing together of innumerable scattered
fragments of evidence whose combined force is
irresistible ; whilst at the same time had some single

150 VKIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

lost work of antiquity come down to us, we should
probably have reached the same goal without an effort.

Xo particular constellation-tigure is connected
with Pythagoras of Samos, whose ' birth was not
earlier than 569, and his death not later than 470 b.c'
(Lewis, As/ron. of the Ancients^ p. 123): and who is
' stated to have oriofinated the division of the
heavenly sphere into five zones, cut obliquely by the
zodiac ' {I hid. p. 132). This, of course, implies the
knowledge of constellations. Aristoxenos, the musi-
cian, a discijile of Aristotelcs, stated, somewhat
absurdly, that Pythagoras ' was the first person who
introduced measures and Aveights amongst tlie
Hellenes' (Diog. Laert. Pythagoras, xiii.). He
evidently overlooked the claims of Palamedes and
others. Parmenides says that Pythagoras ' was the
first person who asserted the identity of Hesperos
and Phosphoros ' {Ibid, xiv.), 'sweet Hesper-Phosphor,
double name For what is one' (Tennyson, In
Jlemoria}/!, cxx.) ; and 'the Pythagoreans are declared
to have first laid down the position of the planets '
(Lewis, Astroii. of the Ancients, p. 131). It is notice-
able that all or nearly all of these famous early
investigators of astronomical lore belon"' either to
some of the islands of the Aigaion or to the Asiatic
seaboard, in each case being well within the
Phoenician sphere of influence.

Epimenides, the Kretan, cir. B.C. GOO, is said to
have recorded the translation to the skies of Ai.v
iindA'igoJccrd.s {Capricorn, Katas. xxvii.). Peisandros
of Kameiros in Rhodos, cir. B.C. 650, was the author
of a poem called lleraldeia, which treated of the
exploits of Herakles, and in which he is said to have

IV ] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GKEEK LITERATURE. I51

been represented fer the first time with club and
lion-skin. According to K. 0. MilUer, Peisandros
also first fixed the special labours of the hero at
twelve in nunibuv (Vide Hist, of Gk. Lit. ix. 3 ;
Doric Ilace, II. xii. 1). That is, Peisandros presented
the Euphratean and Semitic aspect of the conquering
Sun-god (Aide R. B. Jr., E., Appendix III., The
Sun- god and the Lion), Gilgaraes, the hero who has
a special labour in each month and Sign of the
Zodiac. He did not arbitrarily choose the number
twelve. He also stated that the Hydra was many-
headed (Pans. II. xxxvii. 4) ; not, as Pausanias
suggests, ' in order that the creature might appear
more fearful,' but in accordance with Oriental
tradition.-' Xor, again, did he invent the legends
about Herakles ; and thus Clemens Alex. {Strom.
\I. ii. 25) charges him with publishing as his own
what was really the lleraldela of Pisinos of the
Khodian town of Lindos. This is quite possible,
and Pisinos in turn would have obtained the stories
from others. I have noticed {Stip. p. 145) that
Herakles, Hydra, Crah, and Lion-skin {=Leu), four
constellation-figures, are combined at an early period
on a Kretan coin ; and, if we possessed the Hcra-
kleia, it is more than probable that we should find
Peisandros and Pisinos Avere well aware of the
translation of their hero and his opponents to the
skies. If it should be objected that Aratos calls this
constellation the Kneeler, and not Herakles, the
answer is that Panyasis of Halikarnassos, who was
put to death cir. B.C. 457, and who followed in the

1 Cf. W.A.I. II. xix. No. 2, Ob. 7-8, ap. Sayce: 'The
monstrous Snake bears the yoke on its seven heads . . the
strong serpent of the sea.'

152 PRIMITIVE COXSTKLLATIONS. [iV

footsteps of Peisandros, writing a poem, also called
the IlerdMeia, in fourteen books containing nine
thousand lines, did call the Kneeler Hcrakles, as
Avienus has fortunatel}' recorded : —

' Laboranti similis succedet imago,
protinus expertem quam quondam dixit Aratus
nominis et cuius latuit quoqne causa laboris,
Panuasi sed nota tamen, etc. (Aratea, 172-5) ;

and the poet proceeds to show that the elder bard
connected this constellation-figure with ' Amphi-
trioniades ' and the tale of the Drajjon and the jjolden
apples. That Panyasis was fully justified in doing
this, appears from the fine kneeling Herakles of
Thasos (Vide Svoronos, Types monctaires ties anciens,
pi. xvi,), a well-known Phoenician settlement. It is
therefore clear that at the era of Panyasis the
northern constellation-figures were the same as at
present. He also related that during the fight with
the Hydra, Herakles trampled upon the C7rib which
had bitten his foot {Katas xi.). As Panyasis was
acquainted with the northern constellations, there is
no reason to doubt that he was equally familiar with
the zodiacal and other Signs. His standpoint as
regards his hero was the same as that of Peisandros,
that is to say, he laid much stress upon incidents
connected with the foreign aspect of Herakles the
Sim-god. ' The Alexandrines placed him among
the five principal epic poets, and some went so far
as to compare him with Homer ' (K. 0. Miiller, Doric
Jidce, i. 532) ; and here, as unfortunately in so many
other instances, the almost total loss of the Avorks of
this school of Asiatic Greek poetry deprives us of
highly important links between tiellas and the
Semitic East.

iv] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. 1 53

A^laostlienSs, otherwise Agaosthenes, .a A^'-ritei* of
early but uncertain date, who compiled a history
of Naxos, knew the Lesser Bear as ' Kynosoura '
(Vide Katas. ii; ; E. B. Jr., //. D. p. 92), and recorded
the translation of the Eagle {Knf as. yi:s.x.; Schol. in
German, in loc.).

To Hesiod, who may be placed in the eighth
century B.C. (Miiller dates ' the time of Hesiod ' at
' 800 B.C.'), various works Avere attributed by the
ancients (Aide Paus IX. xxxv. 5), including the
Eoiai, an account of the heroines beloved by the gods,
and to which part of the existing Aspis HerciHeous
probabl}' belonged ; and the Astrike Bihlos or Astro-
nomia.1 which is quoted by Athenaios (xi. 80) : —
' The author of the poem called Astronomy, which is
attributed to Hesiod, always calls the Pleiades
Pelelades, saying, — " Which mortals call PeleiaJes^''
" Xow the Peleiades of winter set," ' etc. We notice,
therefore, that in the opinion of antiquity, Hesiod
wrote specially upon this subject. The Shield of
Heraldes, an account of the overthrow of Kyknos
( = the Sivan), son of Ares, by the hero, contains no
express mention of any constellation-figure, or of
any star except the Dog-star. The Dragon, the
Serpent, the Lion, the Dolphin and Perseus appear
in it as familiar figures, and usual subjects for artistic
treatment. The poem as a whole is distinctly feeble,
laboured, and utterly unoriginal. It can hardly
have been a production of the author of the Theo-
gonia, a work which the Boiotians of Mount Helikon
in the time of Pausanias did not attribute to
Hesiod, to whom indeed they allowed nothing except
the Erga.

In the Theogonla., which presents an extraordinary

154 PRIMITIVE CONSTKLLATIONS. [iV

raixtur(>of Hellenic and Phoenician myth and tradi-
tion/ and which contains various interpolations, we
meet with numerous personages and creatures such as
Herakles, Perseus, Cheiron, Pryasos, the Hydra, and
the apple-guarding Serpent {^ Drakdii)^ yv\xo else-
Avhere appear as constellation-hgures; but the poem
is not in any way astronomical or astrological, and
the Avriter has no occasion to introduce such subjects
as the Signs. Amongst many difficult passages is
the following : — ' Erigeneiabore the star Heosphoros,
and the bright stars with which heaven is crowned '
(Vs. 381-i). The poet, in accordance with Homeric
usage, applies the epithet Erigeneia ('the Early-
born') to Eos ('the Dawn'), the natural mother of
the ]\rorning-star. But in Avhat possible sense can
Dawn be mother of the fixed stars? Here, as in
so many other obscure passages in (Ireek literature,
it is probable that the difficulty arises from a
commingling of Hellenic and Semitic legend and
' mythology, and that in a manner not understood by
the Avriter. M. Berard has shown that Erigono
(= Erigeneia), a name of the zodiacal Virgo, was
' une traduction populaire (r'EpuKtV?; ' ( Cultes Ar.
p. 180), = Scm. Erek-hayira, the Phoenician goddess
of ]\lount Eryx in Sicily, 'AscJitharth Erek-haylm
(' Astarte longae vitae auctor '), in origin the
Euphratean Istar. She Avas primarily a lunar
goddess, afterwards specially connected with the
planet V(uiw<, but always chiefly lunar in Suri
(Sj-ria) and Phoenicia. Noav a lunar Erigeneia or
even an Erigeneia- Hesperos might fairly be styled

' E.g., the contest between Kronos, a Phoenician divinity
(Vide R. B. Jr., Seni. III. xiii.) and Otiranos is taken from tbe
same Semitic sources from which it appears in Sanchonniathon.

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATURE. I 55

the mother, i.e., precursor, of the stars of night,
followed by her children.

Atlas is a prominent figure in the Thcdijiinvi.
' Standing at the ends of the earth, by strong-
necessity he upholds broad heaven witli both head
and umvearied hands (A's. 517-9), unmovedly, where
Night and Day as they draw nigh are wont to salute
one another ' (Vs. 748-9). He is the son of lapetos
( = Sem. Yapheth. Of. As. Ippata ,' theAVhite IJace.'
A'ide Lenormant, Lev Origines, ii. 17o; Sayce,
As. Led s. p. 1-15) and Klymenc ('the Renowned'),
daughter of Okeanos, whom ApoUodoros (I. ii. 3)
calls Asia, a name specially applied in early times
to the district around Ephesos. His parentage is thus
distinctly Asiatic, and he is sire of Maie {\ . 938 ;
vide sup. p. 146). Astraios (' the Starry-one ' \ is
made by the poet, somewhat clumsily, the sire of the
stars (Vs. 378, 382) a piece of information which
tells us nothing. Asteria (' the Starry-one ') is made
the bride of Perses and mother of the mysterious
Hekate.^ Several other personages who we shall
meet again in the course of the enquiry, are named
in the Theogonia. Amongst these is EurynomG
(V. 358), daughter of Okeanos (Vs. 362-3), who is
described in a somewhat doubtful line (V. 908) as
' having a very-lovely form ' ; but it is noticeable
that 7ro\vripaTo<; was also at times understood as
meaning ' deeply-accursed.' This might, from a
Greek standpoint, be supposed to refer to the fall
and degraded shape of the goddess (Vide sujj. p. 29).

1 As to the Semitic connexion of Hekate, vide Berard,
CuUes Ar. p. 362 ; R. B. Jr., Sem. III. xxii. Mr. Farnell {G^ats,
Vol. II. cap. xvi.) gives many excellent reasons in support of
the view that the goddess is not in origin a Greek divinity.

156 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iT

We next come to the Erga hai Ilemerai (' Farming
business and lucky and unlucky days '). The second
branch of the subject, the general treatment of which
is thoroughly Babylonian in tone, contains nothing
special to our purpose. But the Erga has certain
well-known references to Pleiades, llijades^ Orion,
Seirids, and Arldouros (by which Bootes is generally
understood) which must next be noticed. ' At the
risintif of the Atlas-born Pleiades begin harvestino',

o mo?

but ploughing when they set. And these assuredly
for forty daj's and nights are hidden, and again as
time rolls on they appear when first the sickle is
sharpened' (^'s. 383-7). They rise in May and set
in November. The snail flies from them (Vs. 571-2).
It ' leaves the ground and crawls over the plants,
seeking a shelter from the Pleiades in the middle of
May (the time of their heliacal rising), then . . . the
early harvest must be commenced ' (Paley, in loc).
' When Pleiades, Ilyades and the strength of Orujii
set, then be mindful of timely ploughing' (Vs. 615-7).
' When the Pleiades [poetically regarded as a flock
of doves or wild pigeons] fleeing the mighty strength
of OAua fall into the murky sea ' (Vs. 619-20), then
the sailing season is over. This chase of the Pleiads
by Orion was recounted by the Cyclic Poets (Vide
Schol. in //. xviii. 486). ' AV'hen Orwn and Seirios
shall have come to mid heaven, and Dawn shall
have beheld Arldouros [at his heliacal rising], then
pluck and take home all grape-clusters' (^'s. 609-11),
about the 18th of September. 'When the force of
the keen sun abates his sweat-causinG: heat, when
all-powerful Zeus sends showers at autumntide . . .
then the star Seirios comes for a short space in the
day time above the heads of men, but obtains more

IV] THE CONSTELLATIONS IN GREEK LITERATUKK. 1 57

of the night ' (Vs. 414-19). The Scholiasts take the
absurd view that the Sei'pio? iarrjp of this passage is
the Sun, although the latter has been mentioned just
before. At the same time it may be observed that
the title Selrios ( ' Scoi-cher ' ) was at times applied to

the Sun. So Hesychios : Xeipi.o';- rjXio^, Kwoi aa-r^p.

The passage ' Seirios parches head and knees '
(V. 587), which occurs also in Alkaios, has already
been noticed (SujJ. p. 144). ' Urge your slaves to
thresh out the holy corn of DSm^ter when first the
strength of Orlun shall have appeared' (Vs. 597-8),
about the 9th of June. ' When after the turning of
the sun [= the solstice] Zeus has fulfilled sixty days
of winter, then truly the star the Bear-itatcher,
having left the sacred flowing of Ocean, first beaining-
brightly rises in the twilight ' {aKpoKvej>at,o<;, ' at-the-
beginning-of-night.' Vs. 564-7). The acronyc rising
of a star takes place on the eastern horizon as the
sun sets.

We have, then, mentioned in the Erga two constella-
tions certainly, the Clusterers and Orwn ; a group of
stars which form part of another constellation (the
Bull), the Rainy -ones ; and two first magnitude stars
(or perhaps two other constellations Kudn and Bootes),
the Scorcher and the Bear-ivatcher. H6siod mentions
the stars and constellations to which he has occasion
to refer when treating of the various operations of
husbandry. But, in his case, as in that of other
writers, the extraordinary inference has been drawn
that those which he did not mention, he did not
know. Will anyone now pretend that he was
ignorant, e.g., of the Great Bear? Of course not.
Then he did not mention it because it was not to his
purpose ? Just so. And the same remark will

158 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [iV

apply to other constellation-figures. Even such a
writer as the accomplished C. Robert, editor of the
ErafoHtJwnis Catasterismorum Jieh'i/iiiae, can say, —
' Homori io-itur aetate haec sidera nota fuisse constat :
Ursam inaiorem, Booten, Orionem, Sirium, Pliadas,
Ilyadas . . . cetera sidera quo ordine aut quibus
temporibns singula Graecis innotnerint, difficillima
ac vix enodanda quaestio est' (P. 244). 'Now,
setting aside the fact that the writer makes no
reference to Euphi'atean astronomy in this connexion,
this standpoint amusingly shows how frequently
literary men are the slaves of books, when what
has been written is in reality only one part of the
question. For, if anyone will turn on a starry night
from the text of Hc'siod to the nocturnal sky, even
in our dimmer regions, he will see at a glance that it
would be practically impossible to group Hyades,
Pleiades and Orion without also grouping certain
other sets of stars. Long ere a formulated and com-
paratively elaborate system of agriculture star-groups
had been observed, even as they are now in regions
which possess no agriculture woi'thy of the name.
Had Jlrsiod never connected together e.g., the stars
of the TtrinK or of the Scorpion ? He must have
done so, even if there had been no Babylonia to
supply Hellas Avith a Zodiac. And it is necessary at
varioTis stages in the enquiry to insist on the worth-
lessness of the argument from silence, because such
an extraordinary weight has been attributed to it
by various scholars of great attainments, but who
have ignored the refined common sense view of the
matter, and Avho Avere ignorant ahke of a correct
application of the principles of evidence, and of
modern Euphratean discoveries.

IV] TIIK CONSTELLATIONS IN GREKK LITERATURK. 1 59

Such, then, are the chief instances in which con-
stellation-tionres appear in the surviving Greek
literature B.C. 350-800, and from this examination
Ave learn : —

1. There is not a tittle of evidence to show that
any school of Hellenic mythographers, poets or
historians, sulisequent to B.C. 800, ever deliberately
invented constellation-figures and tacked stories on
to them.

2. There is no reason to suppose, that, because a
writer did not mention any particular constellation-
figure, therefore he Avas ignorant of it.

3. Eudoxos and the Greeks of the fifth centur\-
B.C. were acquainted with the constellation-figures
described by Aratos.

4. The constellation-figures are inA'ariably sup-
posed b)^ Greek Avriters to have come down from a
very high antiqixity; and it is natural to them to
believe that ancient sages such as Palamedus,
Arktinos, Epimenides, and Mousaios were acquainted
Avith them.

5. The loss of the greater part of the earlier
(ireek literature and of many important Avorks on
astronomy, renders it someAvhat difficult to trace the
stellar and constellational knowledge of the early
Hellenes in minute detail.

G. The following constellations are directly named
by the Avriters quoted : — the Greater Bear^ the Lesner
Bear, the Ploughman, the Horse, the Doljphin, the
L]ire, the Eagle, the Arrow, the Bird, the Crown, the
Kneeler (Ilera/des), the Scorpion, the Water-jjourer,
the Clusterers {exen in Aratos a distinct constel-
lation), the Ram, the Archer, Orwn, and the Dog.
The Rainy-ones are mentioned apart from the Bull,

l6o ntlMITIVE CONSTELLA.TIOXS. [iV

and each individual Hyad and Pleiad had received
a name. The stars Scorcher, Bear-icatclier, Goat
{Aix-Capella) and Kids {Erlphol-Hoedi) also occur.
Indirectly Ave hear of the Serpent, Kipheuv, Kassiepeiu,
Andromeda, Perseus, the Sea-monster, the Water-
snahe, and those Signs of the Zodiac which are not
specifically mentioned. But why should not these,
which chance to be omitted, have been as ancient?
As C. Robert asks, ' An credi potest Arietem prius
quam Perseum aut Cassiepiam inventum esse ? '

7. Lastly, there is nothing to negative the belief
that the AA'oman-hating sage of Askra was familiar
with all, or nearly all, of the primitive constellations
of the Greeks.

CHAPTER Y.

The Primitive Constellations of the Greeks considered
in connexion with the earher Coin-types.

There are few more interesting handmaids to history
and archaeological research than the science of Numis-
matics, which, from the days of Eckhel, has amply
received that careful attention it so well deserves.
And, ere we ascend higher the mysterious stream of
history, it will be well to consider the primitive
constellation-figures of the Greeks in connexion with
the earlier coin-types, Phoenician, Karthaginian,
Kypriot, Lydian, Lykian, Etruscan, and Hellenic.
The period covered will be, in the main, that treated
of in the previous chapter viz., B.C. 350-800 ; and
few Greek coin-types later than B.C. 350 will be
referred to. Every numismatist is aware that the
Ham, Bull, Lion, Eagle, Dolphin, and various other
fishes and birds frequently occur on coins; and it
may be at once conceded that such representations
are by no means necessarily constellational in
character. Whether they ai*e so or not, is a matter
of evidence in each case ; and, undoubtedly, in many
instances, various figures which ultimately were used
as constellations found their way on coins and in
other branches of ancient art in their pre-constel-
lational character. For as noticed, the Ram (Vide
sup. p. 53) and the other Signs had histories of
their own long ere they became associated with

11

l62 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

particular groups of stars. If, however, we find
that figures used as constellations appear on coins,
and elsewhere in art, either clearly in a constellational
character, or far more frequently than a nonnal
proportion would allow ; then we may undoubtedly
assume a connexion between the one set of figures
and the other, and believe that the State designedly
impressed on its coinage forms whose celestial
association had already rendered them sacred or
serai-sacred.

The following figures, emblems, or symbols, which
are also connected with the constellations appear on
the extant coinage of Phoenicia : —

I. Archer. Described by G-esenius as ' Sagittarius
hippo-campo super undas rectus, infra Piscis' (Khilak-
Kilikia). The Hippocamp is very like a Capricorn,
and the combination bears a strong resemblance to
Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Fiscis Australis. Naked,
wearing |??7os, kneeling {Engonasin), and discharging
an Arrow.

II. Arrow. Forming with Club the letter X
(Vaga, 'Africae civitas '). The weapons of Herakles.

III. Bird. An Owl, ' cum fiagello et lituo' (Khilak),
' The Owl on Athenian coinage,' remarks Prof.D'Arcy
Thompson, 'is an emblem of great interest, but
involved in not a little difficulty. Svoronos takes it,
with some hesitation, to correspond to the constel-
lation simply known as "Opvi<i.' But, as the Professor
remarks, Orms = Kyknos ('the Su-an'). The
constellation-birds are Eagle, Swan, Vulture ( = the
Lammergeier, vide R. B. Jr., The God Tartak, in
the Academy, July 20, 1895) in Lyra., Dove (as
connected with the Pleiades), and Crow. Birds of
the Cori'Ms-type appear on various Phoenician Avorks

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN- TYPES. I 63

■of art (Vide a gem iiguL-ed in Gesenius, Too. xi.),
altliough not to my linowledge on coins. Tlie Dove
appears on coins of AsliqeMn (Askalon).

IV. Bull. ' Leo Tuuruni devorans ' (Tarz-Tarsos).
Two different types. I am not here concerned witli
the original signification of this, or of any otlier,
representation referred to ; but merely with the fact
that a constellation-figure is also a coin-type (Vide
inf. Lion).

Passant -guar dant (Tzur-Tyros). Another Tyrian
coin bears a small Bull or Cow cduchant.

Statant (Salamis, Kypros, B.C. 500). Above,
winged disk. The Bull is also a vase ornament at
Amathos (Kypros), and in Kartliaginian (Vide Perrot,
j3ist. of Art in. Ph. and Cyprus., ii. 82) and Numidian
art (Vide Gesen., Tab. xxiii., xxv.).

Bull., salient (Arvad-Arados), gibbous (Ibid.).
V. Charioteer. Driving (juadriga (uncertain
Sikulo-Punic coin). Described by Gesenius as 'Rex
Persarum currui insidens ad dextram., ante eum
auriga, pone figura stellam vianu prae se ferenn.
Supra quattuor litterae phoeniciae (Khilak), inter-
preted as ' sidus meum {i.e., fortuna mea) per hnnc
{i.e. per hoc).' It is quite possible that the king of
Persia and some beneficent planet, Jupiter or Venus.,
may be referred to. But it is also to be remembered
that the type of divine personage seated in four-horse
chariot, is thoroughly Euphratean (Vide Lajard,
Culte de Mithra, PI. xli.. Fig. 3 ; CuUimore, Oriental
Cylinders, No. 6) ; and this type is exactly repro-
duced in Phoenician art (Vide Perrot, Hist, of Art
in Ph. i. 210). ]\I. Perrot observes, ' Another
object often found in the [Phoenician] cemeteries is a
terra-cotta chariot drawn by two or four horses, and

11 *

164 PEIMITIYK CONSTELLATIONS. [v

occupied by one or more persons ' {Ihid. 209). This
,same type also appears in a curious classical instance
at Rome, where a charioteer, driving four gryphons^
arranged in a similar manner, is being crowned by
a female figure (Vide Spon, Recherches curietises
crAntiqidte, 1G83, p. 69). The star behind the
chariot may be the famous Aix- Capella.

VI. Crab (]\Iotye, Sikelia).

VII. Groicn. Coronam Jauream ' (Kossoura). A
frequent type. ' Intra coronam lauream tintlnna-
hulum ' (Gaulos). A Wreath, apparently of vine-
leaves (Tzur).

VIII. Deltoton (' The A-shaped Figure '). It was
no mei'e arbitrary fancy which connected three stars
over the head of the Ham with this shape (Vide
.'<uj>. p. 51). The figure is at times also connected
with the Hyades (Vide Svoronos, p. 107); and, as a
Delta, with the Tripod, which appears on coins of
Gaulos.

IX. Dog. Tree with Se-rpent twined round it,.
between two conical stones ; below, Dog and
Murex (Tzur). Gesenius gives amongst the ' Incerti
variarum regionum,' a coin bearing on the reverse
a dog-like animal, but possibly a leopard. With
head raised; below, Plant (Motye).

X. Dolphin. Female head ; in the field, four
Dolphins (Panormos). Two Dolphins appear as part of
the ornament on a Numidian stele (Gesen. Tah. xxii.).

Similar type as Panormos (Makara, in Sikelia,
also called Minoa, the ' Settlement,' and Herakleia).
Dolphin, and trident (Gadir).

1 Vide R. B. Jr., The Gryplwn heraldic and mythological, in
Archaeologia, xlviii. A Charioteer and quadriga also appear on
a Phoenician coin of Sjrakousai.

"V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. I 65

Dolphin; in the field, above, two Kypriot, and
below, two Greek letters (Coin of Nikokreun of
Kj'pros, son of Evagoras I.). ' Evagoras was more
Greek than his people. By their writing, arts,
religion, manners, the latter were closely allied with
Asia' (Perrot, Hist, of Art in Ph. ii. 101).

Poseidon standing, in right hand trident, in left
Dolphin (Arvad). According to legend, Delphoi had
belonged to the god at one time. This type is
frequently reproduced in Gk. art.

XL Dove. Female bust, Dove standing to right
(Ashqelun). The Askalonian Dove was connected
with Semiramis-'Atar'ati (Diod. ii. 4 ; Loukianos,
Peri t(h Sijriou The. xiv.).

Dove, volant (Type on early Kypriot coins). On
a. Numidian stele a Dove appears near a bunch of
Grapes (Vide inf. Grape-cluster). Cf. the Pleiad
and the Hyads.

XII. Eagle. ^Jupiter Aquilam tenens, in area
sjpica (Vide inf. Ear-of-corn) et uva (Vide inf. Grape-
cluster. Tarz).

Statant (Moty^).

' Jupiter . . . super sinistra Aquilam tenens ' (Gesen,
Some other Kilikian city).

With Palm-tree (Arvad).

With Ear-of-corn and Cluh (Tzur).

With Peacock (Vaga). The Birds of Zeus and
H^ra.

With Serpent {Incert. Var. Reg.).

XIII. Ear-of-corn (Vide sup. Eagle). The star

Gk. Stachgs, Lat. Sjn'ca, symbol of Astarte-Parthenos-

Virgo (Vide Ii. B. Jr., V.). ' The Virgo of the

Zodiac is of course Astarte' (Sayce, in Trans. Soc.

Bib. Archaeol. iii. 163), ' who carries in her hand the

1 66 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [v

brilliant Ear-of-corn ' (Arat. II. D. 97). This symbol
appears on coins of Khilak, Kanaka (Sexti), Juba 11.^
Arvad, Tzur, Belon, etc.

iXIV. Fish (not a Dolphin). With Demi-horse
(Panormos), = the first of the two zodiacal Fish and
Pc(/asos^ a very interesting illnstration of the harmony
between coin-types and the location of constellations.

Two Fishes, on coins of Gadir-Gadeira (Gad6s)y
Sexti, and Abdera.

One Fisli (Cf. Fiscis Notius), on coins of Solous,.
Gadir, and Sexti.

XY. Goaf. A frequent Phoenician coin-type
(Vide Head, Coinage of Lydia and Persia, p. 38),
'• Hircus humi ciihans' (Khilak). On a late coin of
Vaga a Capricorn, his favourite Sign, appears in
connexion with the head of Augustus ; and on a late
coin of Sabi-atha in connexion Avith a head of Hermes,
But these are Classical introductions. In each case
the Capricorn has a star between his fore-feet, and
above him is the Cornucopiae, which was connected
with the Zeus-nurturing Kretan Goat Amaltheia
(Vide inf. p. 221).

XVI. Gorgon-head. ' Caput Medusae ' (Motye),
AVith protruded tongue. This coin-type supplies an
interesting link between Phoenicia and the great
Perseus-S. George legend.

X\TI. Grape-iduster. It is an interesting fact that
the Clusterers {Pleiades) are frequently represented
in coin-symbolism by a cluster of grapes [^oTpv;).
'Rorpvv <yap avTa<; Xiyovcnv (Schol. in II. xviii. 486).
I\r. Svoronos figures ' a very remarkable coin of
Mallos in Cilicia, where doves are represented whose
bodies are formed of bunches of grapes, the dove-
emblem (Vide suj}. Dove) and the grape-emblem of

"V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 67

the Pleiad being here united or intermixed' (D'Arcy
Thompson, i?m]? and Beast in Anct. Symbolism, p. 186).
Prof. Thompson well points out the connexion between
OtVa?' elSo<; •7repiarepd<i dypia'; (Hesychios), olvo<;-wme,
Sem. yai/in, Gk. v-oinos, and the Sem. younah, ionah^
' dove.' The whole form a commingling of etymolo-
gical connexion and similarity of sound such as
symbolism delights in. The Grape-cluster appears
on coins of Khilak, Arvad, and Juba II., in the latter
instance with 5-rayed star, perhaps the Pleiad.

XVIII. HhakUs (^the Kneeler). With Cluh
and Lion-shin ; with Lion-skin and Bow ; with Cluh
and Boiv ; holding up Lion by the tail (Khilak).

With Club and Lion-skin at Altar; beardless
laui-eate head of (Tzur). ' Caput Herculis imberhe
exuviis leonis tectum^ (Sexti).

XIX. Horse. With 8-pointed star (Kypros).
Head of; Demi-horse with Fish (Vide sujj. Fish):

with Palm-tree (Panormos).

Winged (Syrakousai). A Horse also appears on
one of the Incerti Var. Reg. coins.

The Winged-horse occurs on a well-known Hittite
seal figured by Wright {Empire of the Hittites.^ PL xvi.),
Lajard, and others. It was ' familiar to the imagi-
nations of Mesopotamians ' (Perrot, Hist, of Art in
Chal. and Assyria, ii. 171, Vide Fig. 89. 'Winged
horse'), and Lykians (Vide inf. p. 174). Tarsos Avas
said to have been named from a ' wing ' frapa-o^) of
Pegasos.

XX. Lion. Devouring Bull (Vide sup. Bull) ;
devouring Stag (Khilak).

Head and fore-paws of; head of; statant (Kypros).
In front of Palm-tree (Panormos).
' Leo gradiens ' (Juba I.).

1 68 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Walking to r. (Ashqelun). Ob. Poseidun-Dagon,
with Trident. The Lion is also figured on Kar-
thaginian gems (Mde Gesen. Tab. xvi.), and the
L/on-slin, as noticed, appears with Wraldes.

XXI. Lyre. Figured on a coin amongst the Incertl
Var. Regionum. It is also a Lykian coin-type
{Tid&inf. p. 174).

XXII. Bam. Couchant, with head to left; couchant,
with head to right ; Ram's head (Kypros).

Sheep and lamb ; Ram, with reverted head (Khilak),
like the zodiacal Aries.

XXIII. Serpent. Twined around Egg ; twined
around Tree (Tzur), like Drara.

Behind Eagle {Incerti Var. Reg.). The position
exactly corresponds with that of the constellations
Aquila and Serpens.

XX n". Ship. The galley appears on coins of
Tzur, Tsidun, Ashqelun and Khilak. Argo as a
constellation is often drawn as a demi-ship (Vide
Gesen. Tah. xxxiv. A. Coin of Tyrus; He^id., Coinage
(if Lydia and Persia, pp. 39-42; Sup. p. 101).

XXV. Si nde -holder. As the coin-types seem to
have preserved Draco and Serpens (Vide Serpent).
so Sirpentarius is undoubtedly figured on them.
The normal type of the coinage of Kossura, ' parva
insula cum urbe cognomina inter Libybaeum et
African! sita,' is thus described by Gesenius, ' Cahirus
(s. Raiaecus) i.e. nanus deformts succinctus dextra
malleum, sinistra plerumque serpentem tenens : capite
trihus cornibus s. radiis munito. This personage is
the Phoenician divinity Eschmun, e7rt;^(u/04o? ^oivi^,
' a native Phoenician god,' as Damaskios {Isiddrou
Bios, ccxlii.) calls him. He says, ' Saduch had children,
who are interpreted as the Dioskouroi and Kabeiroi;

V] CONSTKLLATIOXS AND COIN-TYl'ES. I 69

and there was an eighth in addition to these —
Esmounos, whoin they interpret as Asklcpios.'
■Centuries ere the time of Damaskios, Asklcpios was
■of course regarded as an ' epichorial ' Hellene.
A trilingual Inscription of Sardinia ( Corp. Ins. Sem.
■cxliii.) renders Eschmfln Merre by Asklcpios and
Aescolapeius ]Merre. His name probably means
^ the Eighth' (Ph. shemunith, As. sumdnu, ' eighth')
i.e., of the Kabirim (' Grreat-ones '). It was practically
•correct to render Eschmun, who ' had an important
sanctuary on the hill of Byrsa ' (Lenormant, Manual
■of the Anct. Hist, of the East., ii. 279) at Qarth-hadasth
(Carthage) and who Avas 'the god of healing'
(Bunsen, Egypt's Places iv. 236) by Asklcpios, for
they were really two different phases of the same
•original divinity. The descendants of Sydyk ' dis-
•covered both the uses of herbs and the cure of
poisonous bites, and healing charms' (Sanchou. i. 4) ;
iind the protagonist in this good work is Aish-qel,
"Httw? (' the Kindly '), a beneticent Fire-god identical
with Eschmun, and who was specially revered at
Epidauros, so famous for its serpent-cult (Vide inf.
p. 228), and was there regarded as the constellational
Ophiouchos (Vide Katas. vi. ; Hyginus, Poet. Astron.
ii. 14; Schol. German, in voc).

The above list is illustrative merely, and has no
pretensions to be exhaustive. ]\Ioreover, I have not
included in it any human figures except Hcraklcs,
although some of the personages represented may
perhaps be connected with the constellations ; for
K^pheus, Kassiepeia, and Andromeda, as well as
Perseus, were Phoenician divinities (Vide sup. pp. 30,
37-40, 49). Nor have I separately included such
a common object as an Altar, which appears, but

170 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

probably without any connexion with the constella-
tion Ara. And, yet, it is evident at a glance, that
there is a very remarkable affinity and similarity
between the primitive Hellenic constellation-figures
and Phoenician coin-types. If it be objected that
some of the Phoenician coins belong to the period
of Greek or Roman supremacy, I answer that the
coin-types do not. A careless investigator might
hastily assert that Phoenicia borrowed e.g., the
Eagle from Classical sources. But when we turn
to Euphratean Star-lists, we find that there, as in
the Hipparcho- Ptolemy List, the Eagle appears
(A'ide suj). p. 45) ; and was as familiar in its stellar
character to the East as to the West.

As the Phoenicians and Karthaginians, during
their earlier periods of ascendency in the Midland
Sea came much in contact Avith the Etruscans, at
times as rivals, at times as allies ; and as Ktruria was
ever quick to borrow the arts of Hellas and the
East, I will next illustrate the connexion between
the constellation-figures and Etruscan coin-types.
The original coins, or most of them, are in the
Eircherlan Museum at Rome.

L Jj/rd. Of uncertain kind, a Dove or Crow pro-
babl}-. Figured on a weight. The original connexion
between coins and weights is a very close one.
The Owl (Vide sup. p. 1G2) also appears at times;
it has been supposed by some to be a type of the
nocturnal heaven or of night voyages,

IL Bowl. Generally the KavOapo^ or diota, particu-
larly connected with Dionysos.

HI. Bull. Head of.

IV". Cluh (Vide inf. HcraUes). A frequent type,,
combined with pellets or stars.

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 7 I

V. Crah. Figured on a weight (Vide sup. Bird).
YI. Dog. Sleeping ; below, crescent moon ;
sleeping, another type ; greyhound,

VII. Dolphin. Above four pellets; two Dolphins
between two Trident -heads.

VIII. Eagle. With raised right foot, a very fine

IX. Ear-of-corn. Alone; ^\\ih.Cornllcop^ae, Grape-
duster., and vine-leaf.

X. Fish. Apparently a skate ; another type.

XI. Grape-duster. E,everse a star or pellet,
probably the Pleiad ; with Ear-of-corn^ etc.

XII. Ileralies (A^ide sup. Club). Beardless, with
cap of lion's skin, the paws tied under his chin ;
another type of same, fine* face ; a third type of
same.

XIII. Horse. Head of ; another type, fine head
with flowing mane ; a third type of same, possibly
intended for head of a Sea-horse ; a fourth type of
same with two pellets or stars ; horse, prancing ;
above, an 8-rayed star; horse, winged, exact Pegasos-
type.

XIV. Lion. Head of, affronte, Avith short sword
in mouth.

XV- Lyre. Three-stringed ; in the field, crescent-
moon,

XVI. Ship. Prow of. Cf. the Bcmi-Argo (Vide
!<iip. p. 168).

XA'II. Tortoise., in the field, two pellets or stars.
A very interesting type (Vide inf. p. 209).

XVIII. Twins. Two naked male figures, each
with an arm behind the other's back, the general
attitude resembling that of the Dioskouroi, Gemini.
It is to be remarked that the idea of the Didymoi

172 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [v

is exactly carried out by the Janiform head, a frequent
type on these coins.

XIX. Water-snake or Sea-monster. Head of, with
crest. Sometimes absurdly called a cock's head,
although the Cock is quite correctly figured on the
coins. This design is on the reverse of the Tortoise-
coin.

The Etruscan coins also show several other very
interesting types connected with the East, such as
the Bee, Hand (perpendicularly outstretched showing
the palm), and Gryphon, all Euphratean symbols ;
the Boar and Triquetra, figures particularly con-
nected with Lykia; and the Caduceus, 'which is no
uncommon object on Carthaginian steles ' (Perrot,
Wst. of Art in Ph. ii. 6f. Vide Fig. 62. ' Stele from
Adrumetum,' showing Caduceus). The Gryphon
also appears on Phoenician and Lykian coins and on
Kypriot cylinders. Such instances further illustrate
the Oriental character and origin of early coin-types.

Passing on to the coins of Lykia we meet with the
following types, amongst others : —

T. Archer. Crowned figure with bow and quiver.
Perhaps akin to the famous Persian gold daric of
Darayavaush ^"ishtaspa (Dareios HystaspC's), Avhich
showed the king crowned, clad in the Persian
handys, kneeling on one knee, holding spear and
bow, and at his back a quiver. Such a type, like all
the others, is not a merely arbitrary device or fancy,
but is connected with a sacred past. Centuries
earlier the Euphratean Sun-god, prototype of the
Archer and his reduplication the Centaur, had carried
bow and arrow ; and without further pursuing the
matter at this point, it will be obvious that originally
the Archer of the coin-type and the Archer of the

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. I 73

Zodiac may be variant phases of a common original.

II. Bull. Two Demi-bulls addorsed. The Tauros
of Aratos is a Demi-bull.

Demi-bull, facing left; with Demi-horse, facing-
right.

Devoured bv L'ion.

Butting to the left.

Winged and human-headed, walking to the right.
(Vide '/»/. p. 176).

Bull or Calf, statant.

Demi-bull, salient^ facing right, with bent fore-
legs. The Bull's ' crouching legs ' are speciall)'
noticed by Aratos (H.D. 517).

Demi-bull, facing left; the same, another type.

III. Dolphin. To left, above an oval object.
Three Dolphins, two different types ; two

Dolphins, two different types.

IV. Eagle. Within a sunk beaded square.

V. Fish. W^ithin a sunk square, with Triquetra.
VT. Goat. Ibex, statant, facing right.

Head of, the exact Capricorn-type^ above which
a Winged-horse.

Demi-goat, facing right.

Salient, facing left.

VII. HerahUs. With left foot raised. Lion-shin.^
(lub and Bow.

With Club upraised to strike. Lion-skin on head
and falling down back.

Standing Avith reverted head. Club in right hand,.
Tripod ( Vide sup. p. IMDeltoton) in left, wearing Z/o?i-
slcin. Cf. the legend of Herakles carrying away the
Delphic Tripod (Vide R. B. Jr., Sem. pp. 97, 196).

VII T. Horse. Demi-horse (Vide sup. Bull).

Walking to left; above Triquetra.

174 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Wing-ed-horse, facincj: to the riffht.

Winged-horse, salient, facing to the left ; the
same facing to the right. Lykia is specially connected
with the Fegasos.

IX. Lion. A protagonistic type (Vide sv.p.
llerakUii).

Winged, walking to the right.

Scalp of head of. Numerous examples.

Face of, in profile, with open mouth, two types.

Devouring Bull (Vide sup. Bull).

Walking to the right, with reverted head.

Demi-lion, winged.

X. Lyre. Within a square. XI. Tortoise (Vide
inf. Aigina).

Here again, the constellation-figures are amply
represented on the coinage. ^lany simply fatuous
explanations of coin-types have been given, e.g., ' the
cattle of various kinds may be of the pastoral valleys,
and those being devoured by lions the incidents of
their neighboui'hood ; but it is in vain to attempt to
account for the varied devices.' Quite in vain on
such lines as these. Local features, as of course,
constantly reappear on coinage ; but they are almost
invariabl)^ blended and harmonized with figures and
symbols connected with an external civilization.

' The first gold coins were issued by the kings of
Lydia, and the first silver money by Pheidon iu
Aegina ' (Perrot, Hist, of Art in Phrygia, Lydia,
Caria, and Lycia, Tp. 253). Electrum, which 'was
composed of about three parts of gold and one part
of silver' (Head, The Coinage of Lydia and Persia,
p. 8), was also used by the Lydian monarchs. On
the earliest coins the Obverse is plain, whilst the
Reverse bears several ' incuse depressions ' and some-

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 75

times a Fox 'running left,' which Lenormant
well conjectures to be 'a symbol of the Lydian
Dionysos, whose name Bassareus may be connected
with the word Bassara or Bassaris, a Fox ' {Ibid.
p. 12). Tlie Lydians did not mereh' choose the animal
iis a coin-type because they chanced to be familiar
with it. AVe then meet with the following types : —

' Fore-parts of Lion and Ball turned away from
each other and joined b}' their necks.'

Lion^s head with open mouth.

Lion recumbent, with reverted head.

Demi-lion and Demi-hull, affronte.

The fore-parts of Lion and Bull form the ' one
invariable device ' of Kroisos. Thus, in all early
non-Hellenics3^stems of coinage we find devices similar
to the constellation figures, and that not here or there
but in great numbers. Nor are these forms by any
means confined to figures such as a Lion or a Bull,
which it has been said again and again, though
without the slightest proof, were chosen as coin -types
simply because they were familiar animals in this or
that locality.

The devices include forms altogether unfamiliar,
such as a Pegasos and an Ophiouchos. And when
we pass from these non-Hellenic systems to consider
the immense mass of Greek coinage which has come
down to us, the prevalence of types similar to, or
connected with those of, the constellation-figures is
simply extraordinary. We need not tentatively or
hesitatingly suggest a connexion; the facts speak for
themselves with overwhelming significance. To give
all the instances in illustration Avould be to enumerate
half the Greek coinage. I therefore merely select the
folloAving specimens . —

176 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

I. My si a.

1. Ajpollonia. Gorgon-head (Yide sup.]). 166).

2. Atariieiis. Demi-horse r. ; above, Serpent.
Demi-horse.

3. Gamhrion. Demi-hvU.^ butting r.
i>M//, butting 1. ; above, Star.
Tripod (Vide sup. p. 173).

4. Iladrianothera. Bears head (Vide iiif,
p. 205).

5. loJJa. Demi-horse, winged r.
Ear-of-corn.

6. Ki/zih'os. This famous city, connected by
colonization with Miletos, which latter place is said
to have been founded by Kretans, stood upon the
'Island of the Bears' ("A/oa:t&)i/ j/i^tro?), a name not
withovit a constellational connexion (Vide Bachofen,
Der Baer in den Religionen des Alterthvms, 1863,.
p. 11); and possessed a coinage, commencing in the
seventh century B.C., which shows a truly remarkable
number of constellation-hgures. Amongst its other
coin-types are: —

Bond. Bakchic kanfharos.

Bidl. Stepping to r. ; below, a Tunny (Vide
inf. Fish). Leake remarks, ' Cyzicene staters, bear-
ing the figure of a bull, . . . their antiquity being-
greater than that of Cyzicene staters with other
types, appear to have given rise to the proverbial
saying of the Athenians on purchased silence, /Sot)?-
eVt yXcoa-ae ^e^rjicev ' (^^\imis. Ilellen. in voc. Ci/zicus r
vide Aischylos, Ag. 36 ). Also Bidl, walking, buttings
kneeling, winged. Bucranium.^ filleted.

Charioteer. Erichthonios (Mde Katas. xiii.)
presented to Athena.

Grah, holding head of Fish in claws.

V] COISISTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 77

Dog. Sfafant 1., r. fore-paw raised; beneath,

Tunny.

Twy-headed, siafanf, with tail ending in head of
serpent. A very curious and interesting figure.
The twy-headed dog with serpentine body appears on
the Eupbratean Boundary-stones (Vide R. B. Jr.,
H.D. Fig. 64), and was ' an emblem of the god Tutu '
(St. Chad Boscawen, in Lacouperie, Western Origin
of the Earhj Chinese Civilization, p. 81) or Tu, a
death-god ( W. A. I. III. Ixvii. 21). Mr. W. Wroth
calls this dos: Kerberos.

Dolphin. Beneath, Tunny.

Bearing female figure; bearing youthful male
figure (Palaimon, vide inf. p. 238).

On r. hand of Poseidon, = n6o-(.9-"lT&)i'o?, ' Lord-
of-the-isle-of-Tan,' i.e.., Kretc (Vide R. B. Jr.,
0. N. C, p. 5 ; Sem. III. xv.).

Eagle. Head of, with Tunny in beak.

Two, with closed wings facing one another, on
omphalos of Delphoi.

Fish. The protagonistic type of the city is
the Tunny (Vide sup. Bull, Crah, Dog, Dolphin,
Eagle), and we find from Schol. Arat. Phainom. 242,
that the Northern of the two zodiacal Fish XaXSaloi,
jcaXovaiv 'l-x^dvv ■x^eXi.Soviav. The Chelidonias was
a kind of Tunny. I do not suggest (and this principle
holds good in many similar instances) that the people
of Kyzikos stamped their coins with a tunny merely
because they knew it as a zodiacal Sign ; but their
fishing industry harmonized in the matter with their
constellational knowledge, and jointly contributed to
this particular selection of type. Besides the
previous instances we meet with (1) Tunny, upright
between two fillets; (2) Head oi Fish ; (3) Two Fish-

12

178 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOKS. [V

heads; (4) Tail of Tunny within circle ; (5) Head
of Fish^ I.; above, tail of Fz'sh, r. ; (6) Athena ^
beneath, Tumiy; (7) Naked male figure, with body
ending in fish's tail, i.e., the archaic Philistine,
Phoenician and Kretan Poseidon; beneath, Tamvj.,
1. ; (8) Winged female figure, holding Tunny in right
hand. As figures of the archaic Poseidon are often
doubtfully called ' Tritons,' so this female figure is
doubtfully described as ' Xike.' It is more probably
a form derived from the Phoenician Andromeda,,
a constellation-figure which adjoins the Tunny (Yide
inf. Goat., HrrdlW-s, Horse., Lion, Barn). The Tunny
is specially connected in art with Poseidon (Vide
Athen. viii. 36). And in illustration of the fact that
the zodiacal Pisces were tunnies, we find in the
Ducal Palace at A'enice, Jupiter ' represented in his
houses Sagittarius and Pisces . . . raises his sceptre
in his left hand over Sagittarius, represented as the
centaur Chiron : and holds two thunnies in his right '
(Euskin, Sfories of Venice, ii. o53).

Goat. Head of, 1.; behind. Tunny.
HeraMes. Bearded (the Gilgames type),,
naked, 'kneeling on one knee' [^Engonasin), with
Chdt, Boir and two Arrnirs; behind. Tunny.

Bearded, naked, kneeling on one knee, holds Tunny
by tail.

Head of, bearded, wearing Lion-skin; beneath.
Tunny.

Naked, kneeling, with Club, Lion-shin on left
arm; beneath, Tunny.

Naked, kneeling, strangling Nemean Lion ; beneath,
Tunny.

Horse. ' Pegasus,' with pointed wing, flying
r. ; beneath, Tunny.

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 79

Lion (Tide HerahUs). Scalp of, affronte ;
beneath, Tunny.

Lioness, head of; in field r. Tunny.
Seated, r. fore-paw raised, mouth open ; beneath,
Tunny.

Preparing to devour prey; beneath. Tunny.
Demi-lion, devouring prey; behind, Tunny.
Head of, mouth open.

Bam. Standing, kneeling; beneath, Tunny.
Scorpion. In small incuse square.
Tripod (Vide su2J. p. 51). Above which,
radiate disk ; beneath. Tunny.

In addition to these types we meet with the
Chimaira (connected with Pegasos), the Cock, Boar,
and Gryphon (as on Etruscan coins), the Fox (A'ide
sup. p. 175), Apollon with Lyre, the Corn- wreath and
the Oak-wreath (= the Crown), the Sphinx, Dionysos
(Vide inf. p. 18G), and Satyrs. Another type
shows ' Harmodius and Aristogeiton,'who are certainly
excellent representatives of the Tivins. A Satyr
pouring wine from jar into kantharos cannot be
considered as a symbol of ^g^/arms; but, with this
exception, every Sign of the Zodiac, as well as many
other constellation- figures, are practically represented
on the coins of this single city. A coin of the earlier
Imperial period bears the Lyre.

7. Lampsahos. A Phoenician name, meaning
' the Passage ' — across the Hellespont. The coins of
this city show the Bowl, Cluh, Ear-of- Corn, Dolphin
and Grapie-cluster. The Lyre occurs after B.C. 190.
We also find : —

Harpe. ' The scimitar with which Merodach
is armed is shown by the cylinders and bas-reliefs to

12 *

l8o PKIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

have been of the shape of a sickle, and is therefore
the same as the harpe or khereb with which Perseus
was armed when he went forth to fight against the
dragon of the sea [/v/o.s] at Joppa ' (Smith and
Sayce, CIuiI. Ac. Gen. p. 113 ; vide Pherek}-drs,
Frarj. xxvi.). We have ah-eady met the Perseus
myth in ]\Iy.sian coinage (Vide sup. Apolldnia). The
Eg. kiirp is a ' loan-word from Canaanite li-Jiereh '
(Hommel, And. Heh. Trad. p. 112, note).

Horse. Demi and winged. The Pr(jasos, the
protagonistic type of the cit}', is found from B.C. 500.
The Janiform-head and the liee are met with, as in
the Etruscan coinage.

8. MilHopolis. Bull. A curious type of the
city is the Double-bodied Owl, affronte.

9. Purion. A noted seat of the cult of
Dionysos : —

Altar. ' The great altar of Pariam,' lighted
(Vide Strabo, X. v. 7 ; XIII. i. 13).

With Amphora in front of it. It is to be remem-
bered that in Euphratean art, as also at times
elsewhere, Aquarius is represented by an Urn or
Jar., in accordance with the familiar symbolic
principle of a part for the whole. Not merely was
the constellation Ara of great importance (Vide
Arat. Phaliiom. 403-435), but the Altar was the
original seventh zodiacal constellation, afterwards
superseded] by ^the Claws (of the Scorpion'), and
subsequently by the Balance., a Sign of Egyptian
origin (Vide sup. pp. 67-71; //. D. p. 44). Without
asserting that the Parion'.c Altar was in origin
zodiacal or constellational, its presence wit'i those
of other constellation-figures is noticeable.

V] COXSTELLATIOXS AND COIN-TYPES. l8l

Bull. Statantl., with reverted head ; beneath,
Bucranium.

Same type ; beneath, Cluh.

Same type ; above, Dolphin.

Same type; above. Bowl {Patera).

Same type ; beneath, Ear-of-corn.

Same type ; beneath, Grape-cluster. A probable
combination of Taurus and Pleiades (Vide sup. p. 166).

Same type ; beneath. Star.

Same type ; beneath, Wreath.

Butting ; above, Grape-cluster. An interesting
type, with lowered head and bent r. fore-leg, in the
Taurus attitude.

Gorgon-head. A protagonistic type. In one
instance the Uarpt' (Vide sup. p. 179) appears to
occur on the Rev.

10. Plahie. Bull. Walking r.
Lion. Head of r.

Devouring prey ; beneath, Ear-of-eorn (Vide sup.
p. 65). A symbol connected with Kybele, as

11. Pridpos. Types occurring here are (1)
Head of Dionysos, wearing ivy-wreath. The
Corona Borealis is connected with the god, the
traditional inventor of crowns (Vide sup. p. 32);
(2) Bull's head; (3) Grape-cluster ; and (4) Serpent.

12. Prokonnesos. Dove r. ; behind. Dolphin.

I have described the Mysian coinage with some
particularity in order to show as clearly as possible
the extraordinary frequency of constellation-figures
as coin-types, but shall allude more briefly to the
coinage of various other localities. I do not intend to
imply that the types mentioned were the only types
employed by the different cities.

1 82 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [V

II. Troas.

1. Ahydos. Club, Eagle (a leading type) with
Star, Ear-of-corn, Grape-duster, Dolphin, Lyre,
Eam's head, Tripod, Wreath.

2. Alexandria Troas. Ear-of-corn, Horse, Lyre.

3. Antandros. Goat, Grape-cluster, Lions head.

4. Assos. Bird, probably Swan; the same,
volant ( Of. Ornis-Kyknos) ; Bull's head, Grape-
cluster, Ear-of-corn, Lion's head. The Giyphon was
an archaic coin-type of this place.

5. Birytis. Club, Wreath. Another type was
a bearded male head, probably one of the Kabirim
(Wroth).

6. Gargara. Bull, Club, Ear-of-Corn, Grape-
cluster, Horse.

7. Hamaxitos. Lyre.

8. Kebrme. Eagle., Ram's head (protagonistic
type).

9. Lampoma. Bearded Dionysos, a god called
Taurogenes, Taurokeros, Taurometopos, Tauro-
morphos, Taurophagos, Taurophues, and Tauropos ;
Rev. Bull's head and Bowl.

10. Neandria. Horse, Ram.

11. Skamandria. Grape-cluster.

12. Tenedos. Bowl, Grape-cluster, Lyre, Tripod.
The protagonistic type of the island is Janiform head
of archaic style, fern, head 1., bearded male head i-.
Rev. Double-axe, = Dionysos Dimorphos and
Diphues, whose weapon is the ■n-eXsKv; (Vide R. B. Jr.,
G. D. M. i. 332 et seq. Dionysos Pelekys).

III. Aiolis.

1. Aigaiai. Goafs head; Demi-goat. Rev.
Head of Dionysos.

2. Boione. Bull, statant.

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYI'ES. 1 83

3. K//mr. Of Amazonian, i.e., Hittite, founda-
tion. Demi-hor.<!e (7tli Cent. B.C.), Ecujle's head,
Eagle, Ear-of-Corn.

•A. Larissa Phryhdnls. Grape-cluster, Urn.

5. Temnos. Grape-cluster.

IV. Lesbos. Bull, butting ; Calf, head of ; Eagle,
Goat, Gorgon s head, Herahles, Lioiis head, scalp;
Lion, winged ; Ram's head. Serpent, Tripod.

1. Antisse. Bull, Club, Grape-cluster.

2. Eresos. Ear-of-corn, Grape-cluster.

3. Methymna. Dolphin, Grape-cluster, Horse,
demi, winged ; Lion's head. Lyre, Bowl (Ivantharos),
Wreath.

4. Mytilene. Btdl's head. Calf's head, Dolphin,
Eagle's head, Ear-of-corn, Lion, Lion's head, Eam's
head. Serpent.

5. Pyrrha. Goat.

6. Nesos (Island near Lesbos). Dolphin, Lyre,
Tripod.

7. Pordosilene (Do.). Dolphin, Lyre.

Stars of different types frequently appear on the
coins. Such, without taking into account any human
figure except H^rakl^s, is the general result of a very
brief examination, of some of the Greek coin-types of
Mysia, using that name in its larger sense.

V. Ionia. Unattributed early electrum coins : —
Ram's head, archaic human head of Goat-Vike aspect,
Demi-goat, Goat's head, Crab, Scorpion, Eagle volant,
Eagle and Hare, Horse, Horse's head, Deyni-hull
Lio7i's head, Tunny, Centaur, Tortoise, and Gorgon-
head.

Ephesos, of Amazonian, i.e., Hittite foundation
(Vide Sayce, Herod, p. 430), is the only important

184 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [V

city we have yet met with whose coins bear no
constellation-figures. Ephesia Polymastos, called by
the puzzled Hellenes Artemis, is the Hittite 'Atar'ati
(Atargatis) of Gargamis (Karchemish), and her coin-
types are the Bee and Stag, both Euphratean symbols,
and the latter the name of a Euphratean star or
constellation {W. A. I. 11. xlix. Xo. 4, 1. 42). The
Bee (Vide R. B. Jr., G. D. J/, i. 401), connected
with the Bull, the ]\loon, the Soul, and also a
Mithraic symbol (Vide Evans, in Archaeologia, xlviii.
23), appears on the Euphratean cylinders (A'ide
Cullimore, Oriental Cylinders, Figs. 117, 129).

1. Eri/fJirai. The plural termination shows, as
usual, that the 'Red' or 'Scarlet ' (Cf. king Porphy-
riun, the ' Purple '-man, who represents the Phoe-
nician element in the founding of Ath^nai, Paus. J.
xiv. 7) town was a joint foundation of several races.
Tlie jnythic founder Erythros (the 'Red'), son of
Rhadamanthos ( = Eg. Rhot-amenti, ' King-of-the-
A\'est') = Asar- Osiris, whose name had reached
Krete, is primarily a solar-figure, the colonizing
Sun-god, under whose banner a combination of
Kretans (themselves an utterly mixed population),
Karians, and Lykians founded Erythrai. The
instance is a typical one, and accounts for the
extraordinary mixture of Semitic, Aryan, and even
Turanian (using that word in a covering sense)
religious ideas and ritual, Avhich we constantly meet
with in this part of the world. The same citj'
will bear on its coins the images of divinities
purely Hellenic, and also of divinities absolutely
non- Aryan. It has often been supposed that because
one is Hellenic, another, on coins of the same place,

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 85

must be so too ; or, conversel}^, that both must be
Semitic. Neither supposition is necessarily correct.
Amctngst the coin-types of Erythi-ai are : —

Bon-l. The ])acchic Jcantharos. The head
of Dionysos appears on coins B.C. 300-200.

Bull. Head of. Rev. Stellate flower.

Heralles. A prominent type. Young, with
i/on-skin and Club ; Bearded, with Lion-skin.
Young, in Lt'on-skin ; Rev. Club and Boic in case.
Also Kev. Trijjod.

Horse. Walking. ' Pegasos with curled wing
flying.'

Besides the Stellate flower we meet with a Star,
also with the Bee. Another type shows a mab
naked figure (unidentified) on horse.

2. Klazomenai. Boiul, Club, G org on-head, Barn's
head, Ram recumbent, Bam walking, Demi-ram ;
Swan, statant with flapping wings, pluming breast,
etc. A protagonistic tyjoe.

3. Kolophdn, Demi -horse. Horse, Lyre, Tripod.

4. Leuke. LJon, statant ; Swan, statant with
flapping wings ; Sirans head.

5. Magnesia p7-os Maiandro. Eagle, Demi-hull.,
butting ; Gibbous-bull, butting, the exact Taurus-
type ; JSar-of-corn.

6. Milctos. Lion, looking at 8-rayed star ;
With open jaws ; Demi-lion. The lion-type begins
about B.C. 700.

7. Naulochos. Dolphin. A natural symbol at
a 'Place-whei-e-ships-can-anchor.' ' The dolphin has
two principal meanings in Greek symbolism. It
means, first, the sea [Hence the connexion with
Poseidon and sea-crossing divinities.]; secondarily,
the ascending and descending course of any of the

1 86 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [V

heavenly bodies from one sea horizon to another '
(Ruskin, Queen of the Air, i. 39). Hence the con-
nexion with the solar and sea-crossing Diorrysos,
Palaimon, etc. (Vide sup. p. 46).

8. PJwhala. Bull, man-headed. Prototype the
Euphratean Avinged, man-headed Bull, representing
a Power combining the potentialities of" man and
beast.

Bull's head, Lloris head, Ham's head,
Demi-hull.

Omphale, wearing Lion's skin; behind, (Jluh ;
below, Seal, this last type arising from play on
words (^eoKT]). Other types ore head of Dionysos
and Gryphon.

9. Fliyyela. Xear Ephesos. Bidl, butting.

10. Snii/rna (Old). Lion's head. Before B.C. 585.

11. 7''e6s. ' The full title of Dionysos as the
god of Teos was 6 tj}? TroXetu? deo<i Atoi'yo-o?' (Head,
p. 317) = :\relqarth (' King-of- the- City), Melikertes.
Besides the head of Dionj'sos, the Gryphon (a
protagonistic type), and the Bee, we find : —

The Bvirl, Club, Grape-elu.ster, Horse {Demi-
Pegasos), LMue.ss, Lyre, and Mam's head.

12. Chios. Urn (Amjyhoreus, a symbol of
DionA'sos, as at Thebai), Crown (Ivy- or Yine-
wreath). Dolphin, Grape-cluster. The normal type
is the Androsphinx. The Phoenicians copied both
the Euphrateah and Egyptian forms of the Sphinx,
which also frequently appears in Kypriote art, on
gems, seals, etc.

13. Ikaria. Bull, butting ; Grape-cluster.

14. Samos. A Ph. name meaning ' the Lofty.'
Cf. Samothrake. The coinage begins cir. B.C. 700 : —

Bird. Above Bull.

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 87

Bull. Demi ; Head of ; Demi, with bent r. leg.

Dolphin. Herakles. Infant, strangling two
Serpents.

Lion. Head of; Scalp of; Lioness, head of.

lia)n. Head of ; Heads of two.

Shij]. Prow of. Crji (Amphoreus).
The Gryphon is also a type.
VI. Ihiris (Asia Minor).

1. Llalilrirnassos. Gorgon-head.i Poseid6n and
Dolphins, Demi-ioinged-horse.1 Demi-goat, Lyre, and
Tripod.

2. L\Jnidos. A special seat of the cult of
Astarte- Aphrodite : — Bull, head of; Dove; Grape-
eluster ; Demi-lion; Lion, head of; Herakles, mi&nt.

3. Kos. Club, Oral), lliraMi'^i^, in lion's scalp;
Lyre., Serpent of Asklepios, Tripod.

\. Rhodos. Ordinary type, Helios and the
Kose. Also Bidl's head., Club, Dolphin, Eagle, Ear-
of-Corn, Grape- cluster., Demi-winged-horse, Lions
head, Proir, Tripod., Urn.

5. Karpathos. Dolphins (Phoenician Standard,
sixth century B.C.).
Vn. L<:rete.

1. Aptera. Bow. The Ob. bears the head of
a goddess called, for want of a better name, ' the
Artemis of Aptera.' In the abstract Bow and Arrow
are equally connected with any Sun -god or Moon-
goddess ; with the Phoenician Herakles as well as
with the Hellenic ApoUon ; with Istar-Astarte as
well as with Artemis, whose name is often conveni-
ently applied to many nondescript non- Hellenic
goddesses.

2. Arsinoe. Two Dolphins.

3. Axos. Tripod.

1 88 rRlMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

4. Cliersonrsos. Eagh^ Heraldes, with Cluh and
X/o?2-skin ; Lyre, Prow of ship.

5. Elyros. Arnnr-heail. Goafs-head, Bee.

6. Gcrfjina. Bull and Europe, Dolphin, Eagle's
head, Lion's scalp.

7. llierapytne. Eagle.

cS. llyrtalanL Arroir-liead, Goafs head, Bee.
9. If an (>.■<. ' Le nom d'un dieu Tan se trouve
en composition dans celui d'ltanos de Crete. Les
l^lus anciennes monnaies de cette ile representent le
dieu Tan comme un personnage t\ queue de poisson,
tenant le trident de Neptune; au revers est represente
le monstre marin tannhi et sa femelle' (Lenormant,
Les Or/'g/nes, i. 545, n. 2). Itonos, a variant of the
name, appears as the husband of Melanippe (' Black-
horse,' = the black Demeter Hippia, = Astarte, vide
Berard, Cultes Ar. p. 114) and sire of Boiotos
(Pans. IX. i. 1), i.e., the inhabitants of Boiotia.

Poseidon (Vide snj). pp. 42, 177), at times wrongly
called ' Glaukos,' ' with an object held in r. hand,
his 1. hand raised (holding fish ?).' He appeal's as
a human figure to the waist with a fish's tail, like the
archaic Poseidon-figure now in the Museum of the
Akropolis at Athens. Rev. Star.

Similar figure, holding trident in r. hand and Fish
in 1. Poseidon is identical with the Philistine Dagon,
and his consort is Eurynome (Vide svp. p. 29)-
Derketo. Poseidon- Dagon appears on the coins of
Ashqelun and Arvad (Vide Babelon, Monnaies des
Perses Achem. PI. viii. No. 3 ; PL xxii. No. 1).
Dagon is merely the Euphratean Ea ('Water-house'),
the 'Ao9 of Damaskios, the 'fir/? of Helladios, the
'D,dvvTTi of Berosos, which last name is explained by
Lenormant as Ea-khan (' Ea the-Fish ') and by

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TVPES. 1 89

Lacouperie as from a reading A-e-anu, viz. Aim-'Eii
('the god Ea') read reversely (Cf. Xasis-adra and
Adra-xasis ; gibil-hihji, etc.). The Akkadian god-
name Dagan means 'the Exalted-one' (Ak. du,
'summit' + gan, 'the participle of the substantive
vei'b.' Sayce). Various Semitic etymologies were
subsequently attached to the word, such as dugihi^
'corn' (San chou. i. 5) and dag, 'fish.' The cult of
the primeval Fish-god of Lower Babylonia passed
westwards to the Phoenician sea-board and thence to
Hellas, island and continental (Vide R. B. Jr., Sem.
III. ix., xiv., XV.).

'Similar type; the trident striking fish.' Rev.
Two Sea-monsters, in some instances crested, facing-
each other. Here we meet with Kefos.
Eagle, 8-rayed Star.

10. Knosos. Arrow-head, Bull's head and star.
Also 8-rayed Star. Ordinary type, the Labjainth.

11. Ivydonia. Naked male figure with Bou:
and Dog.

Dog suckling infant.

Same type ; above Dog, a Star. Also Dog,
seated.

Bucranium.

Urn, with pendent Grape-clusters.

12. Lyttos. Eagle, flying ; standing.

13. Naxos. Tripod.

14. Olos. Ob. Head of Britomartis, ' quod
sermone nostro sonat virgineni dulcem' (Solinus,
xi. 8), Diktynna (the 'Xet '-goddess), Aphrodite of
the Xet {Od. viii.), a phase of Eurynome, and Avhose
Kretan name is a translation of the Sem. Ast-
No'emd (Gk. Astynome). Rev. Dolphin.

190 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

15. Phaistos. Europe on Bull. Rev. Lions
scalp.

IleraJdes with Club and Bow, Lion-skin in
field ; Rev. BuWs head.

Bull, feeding, his 1-. fore-foot hobbled.

Heraklh, striking with Club in r. hand at
Serpent, Boir in 1. ; Rev. Bull.

Herakles, striking with Chch in r. hand at
Jlydrn, at his feet Crab, over his 1. arm Lion-skva.
(Vide sup. p. 145). Rev. Bull.
Similar type, without Crab.

Bull, walking, butting, butting within Wreath.

Dog. ' On the scent.'

16. Phalasarna. Boljihiii. Also head of Dik-
tynna. Rev. Trident.

17. Polyrrhihiia. Head of Diktynna. Rev,
Bull's head.

BidVs head. Rev. Arrow-head.

18. Praisos. Bull, head of ; butting.
Eagle, stataut, with raised wings; flying.
<iout, demi; behind, Arrow-head. Cf,

Aigolceros and O'isfos.
Head of, within Wreath.

19. Priaiisos. Poseidon standing, in r. hand
J^olphin, in 1. Trident.

Female figure with Serpent.

I)olphi)i, with Budder, and Date-palm.

' Pegasos ' on helmet of Athena.

20. lUiaulos. Poseidon, naked, leading Horse,
and holding Trident.

Poseidon, bearded ; Rev. Two Dolphins,
between them, Trident.

Horses head. Rev. Dolp)h{n. Cf. Hippos and Delphis.

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. I 9 1

21. Rkithjmna. Dolphins, Trident.

22. Tylisos. Apollon holding Goafs head und
Bouj ; in field Arrow-head.

VIII. At'ija/'on Islands (Sonthern).

1. Amorgos (second and first centuries B.C.).
JDeltoton, Lion's head.

2. iTeos (Ditto). ' Forepart of dog 1. surrounded
by rays; Sirius.'

3. Karthaia. A Phoenician colony. Dolphin,
Grape-cluster, Urn.

4. Koressie. Cuttle-fish (a frequent figure in
archaic art, e.g., wrought in gold at Mykene) on r. of
which, Dolphin. The Cuttle-fish is also a common
Sikelian type, appearing on coins of Alountion,
Messana, and Syrakousai.

5. Mf'Ios. Pomes^'ranate. Eev. Bold.
Grape-cluster ; llSraMes, kneeling, and shoot-
ing with Boio ; Lyre.

6. JIi/lviios. Ear-of-corn, Grape-cluster.

7. Xaxos. Head of Dionysos, his Icantharos
and Icri'th- {Bowl), Grape-cluster.

8. Paros. (joaf. Rev. Ear-of-corn.

Goat, with r. foreleg bent ; beneath, Dolphin.
A coin of the second century shows ' Goat, r. ; in
front, a star.'

9. Seriphos. Head of Perseus. Eev. Harpe
(Vide sup. p. 179-). Cir. B.C. 300.

Perseus, holding Harpe and Gorgon-head.
Second centuiy B.C.

10. Siphnos. Eagle, volant; with Serpent mheak.

11. Syros. Ear-of-corn, Goat, Bee.

'Two male figures standing facing, their right
hands resting on their hips.' These figures are
generally called Kabirim, and probably quite properly

192 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [V

SO ; because it is to be remembered that such a
Pair as this, or as the Dioskouroi, = the Twins.
Another type is the ijiUeus, the egg-shaped close-
fitting cap often worn by such figures, surmounted
by a star; or inllei, surmounted by stars. The
' fratres Helenae, lucida sidera ' were identified by
ithe Greeks with the Semitic Didi/moi.

12. Tenos. Poseidon Avith Dolphin; Grape-
cluster.

13. Thora. Bull butting, Li/re.
IX. Aiyaion Islands (Northern).

1. Euhoia. Bull^ head of, butting; Boirl^ Star,
Prow, Ear-nf-rorii ; HeraJdcs, head of; Poseidfin,
liead of; Charioteer, Gnnjon-head, Demi-home, Lions
head, Dolphin, J^agle, D(i(jle and Ileire, Tripod.

Bull or Ox, couchant ; above, Star. Rev. Two
Grape-clusters.

Club, Galleij-stern, Prow, Ram's head. Swan,
Serpent.

2. Imhros. Xaked figure, Hermes Imbramos,
one of the Kabirim ; below. Altar !

Figure holding Bowl and Lyre.

3. Thasos. ' I went to Thasos,' says Herodotos
(ii. -14), ' Avhere I found a temple of Herakles, which
had been built by the Plioenicians who colonized
that island when they sailed in search of Europe,'
/.e., sailed to discover the West. The island was
famous for its mines. Elsewhere (vi. 47) he Avrites,
' I myself have seen the mines in question : by far
the most curious of them are those which the
Phoenicians discovered at the time when they Avent
AA^th Thasos and colonized the island, Avhich after-
Avards took its name from him,' the usual easy Avay
of accounting for names. ' A huge mountain has

Vj CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 93

been turned upside down in the search for ores '
(Ap. Canon liawlinson). ' Among the settlements
of the Phoenicians in the Aegean Sea, none was so
important to that commercial people as Thasus, blest
with a fertile soil, and mountains abounding in silver.
The deities held in the highest honour by the
Thasii, appear from their coins to have been Bacchus
and Hercules, botli probably introduced by the
Phoenicians ' (Leake, Numis. Hellen. in voc. Thasus).
The Hellenic variants of the principal name of the
god Bakchos, so far as known to me are : —
Dionyxos, Deonysos, Deunysos, Dionysos, DionAs,
Zonnyxos, Zonnyso (Vide Sem. p. 133). They attach
themselves to the original Assyro-Babylonian forms
as follows : —

I. As.-Bab. DA-AI-NU-TSI-rii ('Judge supreme,'
W.A.I. IV. xxviii. 1, Rev.l. 6).

i. Hellenic. Z^/o-ny-ccos (Stesimbrotos of Thasos,
B.C. 450).

ii. Deo-ny-sos.

iii. Deu-ny-sos (Ionic).

II. As.-Bab. DI-WU-NIS-I (' Judge-great-of-
nien,' = the Sun-god, the Grape-giver, W.A.I. IL
b:. No. 2, 1. 40).

i. Hellenic. Di-o-nys-os.
ii. Di-o-nus.

III. As.-Bab. DI-VA-NU-KHA(sa^/z'Dionysos-
of-the-City,' W.A.I. III. Ixvi. Rev. Col. v. 1. 40).

i. Hellenic. Zo-n-ny-xos (Lesbos).

ii. Zo-n-ny-s6{Corp.Ins.Gk.'So. 2167).

The last forms arise from the Hellenic connexion
between such words as Ato>,-, Ai, 'Ztdv, Z-rjvi, etc. The
Ph. form would be * Dayon-anosMm (' Judge-ot-
men '). Amongst the Thasian coin-types are : —

13

194 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Heads of Dionysos bearded, and beardless.
Bowl, Club, Urn.

Herakles, kneeling on r. knee, and discharging
an Arrow ; in field, Bee.

Naked, r. hand on Club ; on left. Lion-skin.

Dolphin; below, smaller Dolphin.
X. Sikelia.

1. Uncertain and unattributed. Btdl, butting.
Demi man-headed Bidl, swimming. Horse, galloping.
Earn, walking, statant.

2. Abakainon. Demi-bull, butting.

3. Adranon. Bull, butting; Lyre.

4. Akragas (Agrigentum) : —
Bird, in claws of Eagle.

Charioteer, driving quadriga ; beneath. Crab.
Cf. Ileniochos and Karkinos. Several variant types
of Charioteer.

Crab. A protagonistic type. With ' broad
sea-fish,' type of the Ichthys Xotios.

With shell ' which presents the form of a human
face.'

With Sea-monster. With Skylla. With one, or
two Tunnies.

Deltoton. Behind ^a^/e. Behind head of Zeus.
Dolphin. Beneath Crab.
Eagle. A protagonistic type. Statant,
devouring Serpent. Cf Aetos and Ophis.
With wings closed, statant.

Two, on Hare, one about to tear the prey, the
nearer one raising its head and screaming (Vide
sup. p. 141).

One, on supine Hare; on a Colt; with Tunny
in claws ; with Fish in claws ; statant on Tunny ;
head of (>ilde Bird, Deltdton).

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 95

Fish (Vide Crah, Ear/Ie).
Herakles. Head of, with L/on-sIdn.
Horse (Vide Eagle). Sea-horse^ beneath Crab.
Lion. Head of, with open mouth.
Sea-monster. With Fish iu mouth, beneath
Crah.

5. Agyrion. Demi man-headed Bull; man-
headed Bull with 8 -rayed Star; Farjle, Hare,
Her aides ; Hydra, burnt by lolaoa (Vide inf. p. 216),

6. Alaisa. Eagle, Ear-of-corn, Grape-cluster,
Horse, Tripod. The Bucranium and Gryphon also
appear. Above the Horse is an 8-rayed Star.

7. Alountion. Head of Dionysos with Grape-
cluster. Rev. Crovn (of olive).

Bow and Arrows, man-headed Bull, Club,
Eagle, Hi^raldes.

8. Eryx. Near the famous temple of 'Aschtharth
Erek-hayim (Vide sup. p. 154), called AphroditS
Erykine (Paus. VIII. xxiv. 6), a variant form of
which epithet is Erigone, the zodiacal Virgo.

Eagle, with closed Avings. Rev. Crah.
EryVint'. Head of, full face. Rev. Dog.
Dog ; above, 8-rayed Star.
Dove, on hand of Ajjhrodite Erykine.

9. Gela. Demi man -headed Bull, Charioteer,
Eagle, HUrakUs, Horse.

10. Himera. Charioteer, Crab, Goat, HerakUs,
Sea-horse.

11. laitii^. Croivn (laurel-wreath), Gorgon-
head, Heraldes.

12. Kamarma. Charioteer, Gorgon - head,
HrahUs, Swan, a protagonistic type.

13. Katana. Man-headed Bull, kneeling or
standing ; Charioteer, Fish.

13 *

196 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Helmets of the Dioskouroi, surmounted by
stars, = Tiriiis.

Dolphin, Grape -cluster, LiorJs head, Serpent.

14. Kenturipa. Bird, Emjle, Deltuton, Dolphin^
Heraldcs, Lyre.

1 5. Kephaloidion. Club, Heralles^ LuDi-din.

16. Leontinol. Altar, Charioteer, Fish, Horse,.
Lions head.

17. Lilyhaion. A Karthaginian foundation.
Lyre, Serpent around Tripod, Tripod.

18. Morgantion. Ear-of-corn ; Eagle, standing
on Serpent; Lion, between his legs Serjjent ; Triptod.

19. Motye. The Phoenician coinage of this
j^lace has already been noticed {Sup. p. 164). Dolphin ;
Dog ; Eagle, with Serpjent in beak, Fish (Tunny).

20. Nal'ona. Seilenos, seated sideways on ass,
holding w^ine-cup. Mr. Talfourd Ely has ' traced
the development of Seilenos from an independent
Asiatic deity of flowing water to the position of a
drunken servant of Dionysos' {Academy, February 15,
1896).

21. NcLi'os. Head of Dionysos, with pointed
beard. Rev. Crape-cluster. Protagonistic types.

22. Panormos. Altar, circular, flaming ; Bull,
demi, man-headed ; Charioteer, Eagle, Lyre.

23. Segesia {Aigesta). Charioteer, Dog, the-
protagonistic type.

24. Selinoimtios (Selinus). Altar, Llerahles
seizing Bidl, Charioteer.

25. Solous. Heraldcs, head of in Lion^s scalp.
Rev. Sea-horse.

26. SyraJcousai. Bidl (devoured by Liony
butting), Charioteer, Club^ Dog, Dolphin (4, 3 and 1),
Ear-of-corn, Fish, Gorgon-head, HeraHes (in Liori'

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. ICjJ

shn)^ Horse (Sea-liorse, Winged, and Demi-winged),
Lwn, Lyre, Sivdn, Tripod.

27. Tauromenion. Bull's head. Rev. Grape-
duster.

Bull, walking ; man-headed ; derai, butting.
' Pegasos' flying; beneath, 8-rayed Star.

28. Tjjndarls. Horse's head.

29. Zankle {Messdna). Bucran/'um, Calf's
head, Charioteer, Club, Dolphin. Eagle devouring
Serpent; above, Hare running. Earjle {volant).
Fish, Crape - duster. Hare, running ; beneath,
Dolphin. Her aides (with Lion-skin), Lion, Sea-
horse.

XL Thessalia.

1. Alos, Aleus (i.e., ' Ram '-town, Heb. and Ph.
Ayil, Bah.-As. Ailuv, 'Ram'). In Phthiotis, said
to have been built by the hero Athamas (Strabo,
IX. V. 8), 'in Ionic Tammas ' (K. 0. Miiller,
Orchomenos und die Minyer, p. 156), i.e., Tammuz-
Duwuzi.^

Head of Zeus Laphystios. Rev. Helle seated
sideways on Ram volant. ' Zeus the Gluttonous ' =
the Ph, Baal-Kronos (Vide sup. pp. 3, 154) to whom
human sacrifices were at times so profusely offered,
especially by the Karthaginians. Such sacrifices
were connected by legend and tradition Avith the
race of Athamas (Vide Herod, vii. 197). Between
Koroneia and Orchomenos in Boi6tia, a natural
locality for such a god, was the chief temenos in
Hellas of the Gluttonous-one ; and in the time of
Pausanias (IX. xxxiv. 4) the spot was still shown

1 'Tour comparison of the myth of Kirke with that of
the lovers of Istar is as self-convincing as your discovery that
Athamas is Tammuz ' (Prof. Sayce to R. B. Jr.).

1 98 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

where Athamas was about to sacritice Plirixos and
Hell^ to this god, ' when men say that a Earn having
a golden fleece was sent for the children by Zeus,
and that they escaped upon this Ram.' Here we
notice that the Hellenic Zeus thwarted the horrid
ritual of his Phoenician namesake. The Ram in
question was considered to be the zodiacal Aries
(A'ide Slip. p. 54), and the combination is an exceed-
ingly interesting instance of Phoenician divinities
and ritual on Hellenic ground. The original golden,
flying Ram, as indeed is sufficiently obvious, is the
Sun (^"ide E. B, Jr., Z. p. 3), which is reduplicated
in a stellar Ram (Krios-Aries. Vide sm^j. p. 53). In-
cidentally we also observe that this coin-type is quite
unconnected with the actual animal in its normal
state. It has been frequently asserted that when rams
and bulls appear on coins, such designs have merely
been taken from the flocks and herds around ; and
this theory, though of course never proved , has found
wide acceptance. The present instance well-illustrates
its baselessness. The shepherd Tammuz is naturally
the founder of Ram-town, seat of a cult at once solar
and stellar (Vide R. B. Jr., C. E. A. sec. ii.).

2. Atrax. Horse., .^tatant.

3. Kranon. Demi-horse^! galloping; i^w//,
butting ; Jar or Urn (vSpia) on wheels, on one of
which stands a Jiaveii. It is impossible in this
connexion to avoid thinking of the Crow {Korax)
standing on the Water-snahe {Hydra).! which may
perhaps be alluded to by play on words. What other
meaning the type may have I am unaware.

4. Gomphoi. Zeus Palamnaios seated on rock.
I mention the type because this divinity is probably
foreign in origin. IlaXayxmto? is a title which com-

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 1 99

bines the ideas of skill and cruelty, the clever devices
of the hand {■n-akdii'q) of man and the evil deeds of
thai hand ; and it was natural that the name
PalamMes should be connected with the hand-word
and understood as 'the Skilful' (Vide sup. p. 138).
However the epithet Palamnaios was ultimately
understood, i.e., as an ' Avenger,' ' Avenging deity '
etc., the earlier meaning is that of the ' Blood-thirsty '
and hence ' Blood-guilty ' one ; and Zeus Palamnaios
was certainly akin to Zeus Laphystios.

5. Gyrton. Horse's head and neck ; Horse
bridled, trotting ; Horse trotting ; Ear -of -corn,
Grape-ditster.

6. Herakleia TracJiinia. Lion's head, Cluh,
Wreath of olive.

7. Lamia. Head of Dionysos. Kev. Urn.
Herakles naked, kneeling and discharging

Arrow ; Club on the ground behind him, before him
two Birds (= Aetos and Ornis, vide sup. p. 34).

8. Larissa. All types prior to B.C. 480.

Bull, head and shoulders of; restrained by
youth; galloping.

Eagle, looking back, standing on wingless
thunderbolt.

Another type is the Pelehys, Lat. Bip)ennis^
the sacred double-edged axe (= the Thunderbolt),
particularly connected with Dionysos and the Karian
Zeus Labrandeus (' Of-the-axe ').

Horse, trotting, biting his foreleg ; head of ;
demi, bridled ; galloping.

Lion, head of, Lion's head fountain.

Serpent, fed by Asklepios from libation-saucer
(patera).

9. Malienses (Lamia). Head of Dionysos. Eev.
Urn.

200 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Herakles^ shooting Arrow; in front Bird,
volant.

10. Oite. The place where Heraldes, in true
Phoenician fashion, was said to have burnt himself
to death. Boio and quiver, Grape-cluster, Herakles
holding Cluh, Lion's head.

11. Perraiboi. Bull, restrained by youth;
Demi-hull.

Horse, demi, bridled ; trotting ; with Altar.

12. Phalanna. Horse, bridled, trotting.

13. Pharkaddn. Bull, restrained by youth.
Horse, walking, prancing, feeding ; demi,

galloping.

14. Pharsalos. Horse, head of.

15. Pherai. Bull, restrained by youth ; Demi-
hull, restrained by youth ; running.

Cluh, Fish.

Horse, ' with, rein flying loose, galloping ;
behind him, lion's head fountain, which, pours a jet
of water on his back.' Demi, galloping.

Demi ; Demi, ' issuing from rocks ' ; head of,
bridled ; carrying Hekate.

Lion, head of ; Lion's head fountain, ' water
issuing from the mouth.'

Hekate (Vide Sem. III. xxii.) is a frequent figure
on these coins, and her connexion with the Horse
here illustrates the difficult passage iaOXrj h't-rrirrjea-cn
■n-apeardfiev (Hes. Theog. 439). Mr. Percy Gardner,
speaking of the type of ' the fore-part of a horse,
sometimes issuing from rocks,' observes, ' That by
this figure a stream is represented is almost certain
. . . the addition of the rocks, out of which the
horse is actually leaping, makes the meaning quite
•unambiguous ' {Brit. ]\[us. Cat. Gk. Coins. Thessaly
to Aetolia, Preface, p. xxxvi.). This is very possible,

'^] CONSTELLATIO::^S AND COIN-TYPES. 20I

:an(l would be based upon the supposed connexion
between Pegasos and -TTTjyri, and the story about the
origin of the fountain Hippokrene, which is thus
related by Aratos : —

' A demi-form the sacred Horse revolves
And lie, they say, down lofty Helikon
Brought the pure water from the Horse's Fount.
For Helikon poured down no streams as yet ;
But the Horse smote it; and the water thence
Flowed straightway from the stroke of his forefoot ;
Shepherds first called this water Horse's Fount.
Down from a rock that streamlet flows, and it
Is seen among the Thespians ' {H. D. 215-2.3).

The Troizenians also had their Hippokrene, which
similarly sprang from the touch of the hoof of
Pegasos (Pans. II. xxxi. 12). But it would be an
utter mistake to suppose that this notion, based on
false etymology, Avas the foundation of the Pegasos-
luyth.^ As M. Berard well observes, ' De pegah, le

1 Mr. B. V. Head, after noticing the theory that ' the
forepart of a horse springing from a rook,' on the coin of Pherai
ahove mentioned, ' perhaps represents the fountain Hypereia ' ;
and observing, ' It may be then that at Tanagra a similar horse
{where, however, the rock does not appear] symbolizes the river
Asopus,' observes, ' Another and far more probable explanation
of the horse may be sought in the worship of Apollo as a sun-
god ' {Hist, of the Coinage of Boeotia, 1881, p. 28). Yes, but not
found there ; ApoUon is unconnected with Pegasos. Mr. Gardner
thinks the ' half -horse ' at Tanagra probably also represents a
istream i.e., ' the river Lari ' ; so that rocks or no rocks, the Horse
must = a River. It would be interesting to know whether the
Euphratean and Hittite winged horses represent rivers. In
Hellas a man-headed Bull is at times connected with a river,
e.g., the Achel66s is so represented on Akarnanian coins of the
fourth century B.C. But even in the case of the Bull it is to be
remembered that the horned, bearded, and human-headed Bull
appears on a fragment of an engraved shell found by M. de
Sarzec at Tello {Becouvertes en Chaldee, PI. Ixvi. Fig. 4), and
thus is a very archaic Euphratean concept.

202 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS, [v

frein^ serait venu nw^o""?: ^ Corinthe, Athfena est
la cleesse du frein, x"'^'-^^''''''^j parce qu'elle imposa le
frein k Pegase' (Cult. Ar.^. 116 ; Cf. Paus. II. iv. 1).
It may be added that sos perhaps = the Sem. .siis,
'horse,' Pegasos ('Bridle + Horse') being 'the
Bridled-horse,' as shown on one of these coin-types.
He is the offspring of Poseidon and sacred to the
great Syrian goddess. ' Astarte, mistress of horses,'
passes from the East across Hellas to the Latin "West,
where she reappears as Aenus Equestris. It will be
remembered that several of these Thessalian towns
were situate near ' lolcus [Vide I'nf. p. 216 lol-aos.j
on the Gulf of Pagasae, formerly the abode of the
Phoenician settlers, and the centre of the ancient
navigation' (Duncker, Hist, of Greece^ i. 285).

16. Skotoussa. Herakles in Lion-sh'n^ Club.
Horse^ prancing ; demi, galloping.

17. Trikkcl According to Homer (jl. ii. 729-32)
this place was ruled by Podaleirios and Machaon,
the sons of Asklepios.

Bull, restrained by youth.
Horse, prancing ; demi, bridled, galloping ;
demi, free, galloping ; trotting.

Serpent, fed with Bird by Asklepios.

18. Fepdrethos (Island). Head of Dionysos,
Bowl, Urn.

19. SIciathos (Island). Gorgon-head, Grape-
cluster, Tripod.

XII. lllyria. Amongst these coin- types are Cow
with calf. Goat, Grape-cluster, Serpent, Urn, and
Tripod-caldron.

XIII. Epeiros. Amongst these coin-types are
Bull, Wreath, Eagle, Tripod-caldron, UeraUes in
Lion-skin, Club, Dove, Bowl {Icantharos), Pegasos

Vj CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 203.

volant^ Trident, Dog (Kerberos), Star, Dolphin, and
Grape-duster.

XIV. Korkyra. Amongst these coin-types are
Bowl, Cow, Cow's head, Demi-cov, Herakles in Lion-
skin, Grape-duster, Dionysos, Eagle, Pegasos, and
Star.

XV. Akarnam'a. Amongst these coin-types are
Bowl, Club, DoljyhiR, Dog, Eagle, Goat, Grape-
duster, Heraldes in Lion-skin, Lyre, Pegasos, Ship,
Tripod, and Wreath.

XVI. Lokris. Amongst these coin-types are
Bowl, Grape-duster, Star of sixteen rays, and Urn.

XVII. PhoMs. Protagonistic type ; — Bull's head.
At Delplaoi, Ram's head. Dolphin, Goat's head, and
Tripod.

XVIII. Boiotia. A region so famous for its
Phoenician associations is sure to present types
connected with Poseid6n, Heraldes, Dionysos, and
Aphrodite ; and the protagonistic type which runs
throughout the whole coinage of the country is the
Shield of Herakles commonly called the Boiotian
Buckler, ' a round or oval shield with a semicircular
opening on either side,' such as Herakles, a great
national divinity of Thebai, bears on vase paintings.
This type, whether named or not, must be understood
as occurring at each place.

1. Uncertain Mints. Bowl, Club, Grape-cluster,
Bow and Arrow, Dolphin, Urn, Trident ; Poseidon
on throne, holding Dolphin and Trident ; Herakles,.
wearing Lion-skin.

2. Akraiphion. Said to have been founded by
Akraipheus son of Apollon, by Avhich, however, as
in many cases, merely a Sun-god is meant. The
coin-types are those of Herakles and Dionysos, whO'

204 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

had a temple and statue there ' well worth seeing '
(Paus. IX. xxiii. 3), f.e., the Shield and Boid
(kantharos). This is a good illustration of the
importance of coin-types as illustrating the archaic
history of the countrj', and not being arbitrary
inventions or suggestions. Of course Herakles and
Dionysos, as Sun-gods, practically = Apollon. Such
names as Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Apollon, and
Artemis are frequently applied to the particular
non- Aryan Analogue.

3. Haliartos. Urn {AmpJioreus) , Poseidon
Onchestios, strikino; with Trident.

4. Kopai. Demi-hull. As the town originally
stood on a little island in Lake Kopais, the type
aflfords a good illustration of the fact that there is no
necessary connexion between a Bull, as a coin-type,
and a river (Vide sup. p. 201, note).

5. Koroneia. Gorgon-head., with protruded
tongue ; head of AthOna Itonia (Vide sup. p. 188,
Itanos). This connexion was attempted to be
explained by one of those baseless and amusing local
stories of which Pausanias has preserved so many
(Vide Paus. IX. xxxiv. 1"). Athena Itonia, like
Athena Onka (Sup. p. 36), Avas a foreign goddess.

6. Orchomenos. The protagonistic type in the
early period of this city, once the most important in
Boiotia, is the ' Sprouting corn grain,' which, besides
alluding to the fertility ' of the Orchomenian Plain,
may yet have been selected as a coin-type from its
close resemblance, as represented on the coinage, to
the well-known tortoise on the money of Aegina,
which island still contributed in all probability by
far the greatest portion of the currency in the Boeotian
markets ' (Head, Hist, of the Coinage of Boeotia,-^. 9),

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 205

As the Tortoise perliaps ^^ iv/ra (Vide inf. p. 208),
we find ourselves, as usual, unable to get away from
the constellation- figures. Other types are : —

Ear-of-corn, Horse, Star of eight rays, Shield,
Tripod, Urn, Wreath.

7. Pliarai. Ear-of-corn, Urn.

8. Tanagra (=TAN-a,7po?, 'theCoinitry-of-Tdn,.
i.e., Poseidon, vide smjj. pp. 42, 188). Changed, in the
customary way, to make it a personal name, in this
case that of an imaginary Tanagra, daughter of Aiolos,
or, according to others, of the local river Asopos. It
was a well-known Phoenician foundation (Herod.
V. 57, 58), and the inhabitants who migrated to
Athenai, where even in late times they had their
own temples, were called Gephyraioi (Herod, ut sup.;
Strabo, IX. ii. 10), i.e., ' Men-of-the-village ' or
'Small-town' (Sem. Koupher, 'village,' whence
place-names, e.g. Khephirah, Jos. ix. 17 ; so the
Ph. Gaphara, vicus, Gesen. Script. Ling. Ph. p. 422).
As might be expected, the neighbourhood is full of
Semitic associations. Hard by was ' the scene of the
birth of Orion' (Strabo, IX. ii. 12), and at Tanagra
was his tomb ; and the spot where Atks sits and
meditates, both on things under the earth and on
heavenly-things (Pans. IX. xx. 3), i.e., on the stars
above and below the horizon. Poimandros, &■
descendant of Poseid6n, was said to have married
Tanagra (Ibid. Sec. 1), and the place possessed
temples of Dionysos and Aphrodite ; the tomb of the
handsome poetess Korinna, who sang of Orion (Vide
sup. p. 144) ; and special breeds of cocks, the solar
bird, who, when he appears on coins, sometimes with
a star, marks the morning. Amongst the Tanagran
coin-types is the solar 'wheel of four spokes in

2o6 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

circular incuse ' (Vide Head, Hist, Coin. Boeot. p. 4).
The Shield of course appears as usual, and in one
instance with ' rim of shield in twelve compartments.'
(For the significance of such a division, vide inf.
p. 243).

Ear-of-corn^ Galleij-stern (For the significance
of this, vide s?/ji:>. p. 101), ( rr ape-cluster ; Horse., demi;
Avith Wreath round shoulder; bridled ; head of
(Videswp. p. 200). The connexion between Poseidon
and the Horse is too familiar for detailed remark.

9. Tliehai. Head of Dionysos, Bowl, Grape-
cluster .^ Urn.

Shield, ' the rim of which is divided into
twelve compartments ' (Vide sup.).

Hcraldes, holding Cluh and strung Bow ;
kneeling on r. knee, stringing Bow; kneeling on r,
knee, shooting Arrow from Bow ; with Chih, carrying
off Delphic Tripod (Vide Pans. VIII. xxxvii. 1);
strangling two Serpents; wearing Lion-sh'n; Cluh,
Club and Grape-cluster (Herakles and Dionysos),
Club and Arrow, Club and Bote.

10. Thespeiai. The coin-types of this place
show an interesting Semitic connexion. On the rev.
of the usual Shield, we find, Two Crescents adrlorsed ;
Crescent, horns upwards ; head of Aphrodite Mclainis,
in front, a large crescent, and beneath, another,
smaller. ' Les deesses orientales, a certaine de leur
fetes, portaient des vetements noirs. Tantut ces
vctements etaient un symbole de leur puissance sur
les astres dela nuit ' (Berard, Cidtes Ar. p. 107). We
find the ' Black ' goddess in many parts of Hellas,
and generally connected with Dionysos as Melanaigis
and Nyktelios. At Korinthos the temple of Aphr6-
dite ' Melanis ' was near the sacred enclosure of the

"V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 20/

Semitic Bellerophon (Paus. II. ii. 4). At Phigaleia
she was called ' the Black Demeter ' (Vide Se7n. p. 41,
et. seq.). The original prototype is Istar descending
'to the house of darkness,' as related in the now
familiar Babylonian poem. Another Thespian coin-
type is the Lyre.

XIX. AttlkL

1. Athenai. Galley-stern, Urn. The Crescent
is also found.

The protagonistic coin-types are Athena and
her Owl, which latter is not a constellation-figure
(VidesMjj. p. 162).

2. Eleusis. Bucranium, Bee (Vide sup. p. 184),
Dolphin, Ear-of-corn held by Triptolemos ( =
TpLTro\o<;, ' the Thrice- ploughed-field '), Grape-cluster,
Wreath of corn.

3. Orojpos. Dolphin, around Trident ; Serjjejit,
with Amphiaraos.

4. Salamis. Gorgon-head, on shield of Aias.

XX. Megara. Dolphin, two Dolphins swimming,
Tripod between two Dolphins ; Lyre, Prow, Tripod,
Wreath.

XXI. Aiguia. The coinage of this island, as
representing the first money struck in Europe (Vide
sup. p. 174), is of especial interest; and its fiamiliar
protagonistic type is a Toi'toise, generally a Sea-
tortoise, but at times a Land-tortoise. Leake is
content to observe that it was 'the symbol of the
island,' a remark which does not carry us far. The
creature was not by any means peculiar to Aigina.
Near the Isthmus of Korinth were the Skironian
rocks, Avhence, according to the legend, Skiron was
wont to throw travellers into the sea where they
were devoured by a tortoise (Paus. I. xliv. 12).

2C8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Being thrown in himself by Theseus, he shared the
same fate, a scene which appears on the Yases (Vide
E. B. Jr., G. D. M. ii. 262-3). ' Sea-tortoises,' says
Pausanias, ' are like land -tortoises, except in size,
and with regard to their feet, for they have feet
like seals.' By the Sea-tortoise, probably the
Leathery -turtle is meant. Elsewhere Pausanias
(VIII. xxiii. 6) says that the Arkadian woods
sheltered tortoises of immense size. Aigina was an
island to which Poseidon made good his claim even
against Zeus himself (Vide Plout. Sympos. ix. 6) ;
and a version of the Skiron-story at Megara repre-
sented him as a good and religious man. It is quite
possible that the legend is founded on a cruel Semitic-
worship of Poseidon by throwing victims into the sea
in his honour (Cf. Diod. xiii. 86), which is put a
stop to by the Aryan hero Theseus, assisted of course
by Athena, the customary antagonist of Poseidon,
The Sea-tortoise would thus be a creature of
Poseidon. M. Svoronos, however, regards the
Aiginetan Tortoise as a representative of Li/ra^ and
illustrates this by a unique Tortoise in the Louvre,,
which he, doubtless correctly, considers a Hermes-
symbol (^Sig. des Types Mon. p. 109). This is quite-
possible, but very doubtful, especially since, I think,,
there is no particular connexion between Hermes and
the island. Another view of the matter is thus-
stated by Mr. Head : — ' The origin of the type of
the Aeginetan coinage is supposed by Curtius to be
due to the fact that the tortoise was a symbol of
Aphrodite (Pans. VI. xxv. 2), in whose temple,
which overlooked the great harbour of Aegina (Ibid.
II. xxix. 6), Pheidon's mint may have been set up.
This Aeginetan goddess of the sea and protector of

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 209

trade [for the Aeginetans were ' traditionally distin-
guished among all the Greeks for their aptitude for
commercial pursuits'], may have been [no, — -'was']
originally identical Avith the Phoenician Astarte, and
it is probable that Aegina was one of the stations
from which the Phoenicians introduced their wares
into the Peloponnesus ' {Brit. Mus. Cat. Gk. Coins,
Aegina,lntrod. pp. Ixv.-lxvi.). The statue of Aphrodite
Ouranie at Elis, which was the work of Pheidias,
had ' one foot on a tortoise ' ; and Schliemann
observes that the tortoise ' is so plentiful in the
Troad, that one can hardly take a step in the
country without seeing it. On the banks of the
rivers ... on the fields and heaths, it can be seen
in large numbers . . . and when it is pairing time,
there are most ridiculous scenes, particularly among
rivals' {Ilios^ p. 318). This may perhaps be thought
to support the view of Curtius, but the point is
exceedingly doubtful, and the Tortoise, as noticed
{Stip. p. 171) also appears on an Etruscan coin.
According to Pausanias (II. xxx. 2), the non-Aryan
Hekate ( Vide siqh p. 155) was more honoured at
Aigina than any other divinity ; we know but little
of the details of her earlier ritual, and the Tortoise,
like the Toad, may have been connected with her.

I think, however, that the Tortoise-type of Aigina
originated in another line of idea, and is a reduplica-
tion of a Euphratean type. I discovered the zodiacal
Crab in Tablet, No. 81-7-6, 102, where he appears
as ' the Constellation Nagar-asurra (Vide sujo. p. 60)
and the Sign of the fourth month.' The Crab has
not yet been found on the Boundary Stones, whereon
various constellation-figures are represented ; but it
appears on the Cylinders, whilst the Turtle ( = Sea

14

2IO PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Tortoise) is found on the Boundary Stones (Vide
R. B. Jr., Z. Figs, viii., ix.) and the Tortoise on the'
Stone of Nabukudurutsur I. (Vide W. A. I. V. PL
Ivii.). The Turtle, Tortoise, and Crab are all
variants ; and, again, the Crab and Scorpion are
variants, being originally personifications of Dark-
ness, conceived in monstrous or semi-monstrous
form, which seizes, stings, or, it may be, guards
the solar-hero. Hence the contests between Herakles
and the Crab {Sufp. p. 145), between Orion and the
Scorpion i^Sui). p. 67). Scorpion and Tortoise hold
a similar position in the Egyptian Boole of the Dead.
Thus in cap. clxii. the formula, ' The Sun lives, the
Tortoise dies,' is four times repeated ; and in the
division of the Zodiac one of its darkest parts, in
fact ' the Dark Sign,' is allotted to Cancer .^ who
faces and opposes the solar Leo. The creature
connected with Darkness is naturally also connected
with Aphrodite ]\Ielainis {^Siup. pp. 206-7). But,
further, as Jensen {KosmoJinj'ie.^ p. 65) has observed,^
for some reason or other the Scorpion and some
Shell-fish appear as symbols on ' the so-called
Deeds of sale ' ; just as the Crab is a prominent
symbol on some statues of Artemis Ephesia
(=the Hittite 'Atar-'ati), and, as we have seen,
is a Phoenician {Swp. p. 164) and Greek coin-type
(On this subject, vide P. B. Jr., The Zodiacal
Crab, in The Academy, Feb. 21, 1885; Dec. 6, 1890).
Considering that the primary factor in the inter-
course between Phoenicians and Aiginetans would be
commerce, if a Crab, Tortoise, Turtle, Shell-fish, etc.
was a kind of common mark or symbol (like our
legal stamps) ioipressed on trade documents, it
would naturally become a coin-type, and any

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 2 11

connexion between the creature and any particiUar
divinity would strengthen the arrangement. The
Tortoise of Aigina of cir. b.c. 700 has ' a row of
dots ' ' down the middle of its shell ' ; and this purely
artificial addition reminds us that the Crah of Aratos,
which was evidently figured in a position similar to
that of the Turtle of the Boundary Stones, Avas
bisected b}^ the Tropic of Cancer^ which passed
through it

" From end to end, where a straight lino would beat
Divide it with an eye on each side of the zone.'

(ff.D. 495-6).

I will not further pursue the subject at this point
of the enquiry, but will say, as Herodotos and
Pausanias would have done, ibr the present let this
suffice concerning the Tortoise. Other coin-types
and symbols of the Island are : —

Bird, volant; JJncrain'um, Dolphin, Flsli, Proiv
(=tlie Argo type), and lican's head. A Pentacle,
composed of three interlaced triangles forming a five-
pointed Star, also appears.

XXII. Korinthos. The constant and protagon-
istic type of Korinth and her colonies, whether in
Italy, Sikelia, Illyria, Epeiros, Korkyra or Akai'nania
is the Pegasos, which I presume no one would
attempt to explain by always connecting it with
some stream (Vide sup. pp. 200-1). The colonies
obviously adopted it because it was the familiar
type of the mother-country ; and so their local
streams are out of the question, and a similar reason
may have obtained elsewhere. Korinthos was
the abode of Hipponoos (' the Wise-horseman '),
commonly called Bellerophun (Vide Sem. p. 167),
in explanation of which Semitic name the usual

14 *

212 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

baseless story was invented. According to some, he
was the son of Poseidon and Eurynome (Vide sup.
pp. 29, 155). At Korinthos Athena was said to have
given Pegasos to the hero (Pans. II. iv. 1) ; and the
locahty was connected with a whole group of Semitic
divinities, Poseidon and his son Palaimon, whose
statue was represented on a Dolphin's back (Ibid. 11.
i. 7); Ino (=Ph. Anna, 'the Merciful,' Dido, 'the
Beloved ')-Leukothea ('the White- goddess '); Aphro-
dite, Hera Akraia (Vide Sem. pp. 4G, 162), etc. The
Korinthian coins begin in the time of Kypselos,
seventh centur}' B.C., and the earliest type is ' Pegasos
bridled, Avith curled wing, flying r.' ; beneath him is
the Q {Q'oph) of the archaic Kadmeian alphabet.
The consideration of this early coin-art will be
assisted by a reference to the famous Coffer {Kv^eXrj)
in which, when an infant, the Korinthian despot had
been concealed, and Avhence he obtained his name
Kypselos (Herod, v. 92). Made of cedar-wood,
ivory and gold, and ' richly adorned with figures in
relief,' it had, long ere his date, descended as
a precious heirloom in the family. At the time of
Pausanias, who has given a fairly full description of it
(V. xvii.-xix.), this Chest was part of the treasures of
the temple of Hera at Olympia. There were inscrip-
tions upon it in archaic letters and partly written
^ova-Tpo(j)r]Bov, a reminiscence of a foreign origin; and
also other inscriptions, winding-about (eXt^/xoi;?) and
difficult to understand. On the first side of the
Chest was depicted Oinomaos, king of Pisa in Elis and
son of Ares, pursuing Pelops (' the Dark-faced'), the
swarthy stranger from Asia Minor, tamer of horses,
favourite of Poseidon and grandson of Atlas, who
is bearing aAvay the king's daughter Hippodameia

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 213

('the Lady-horse-breaker'). This is practically
a contest between Poseidon and the Aryan Ares, in
which the latter unhicky god is worsted as usual.
' Each [Oinomaos and Pelops] have a pair of horses
of their own, but those of Pelops have wings by
nature.' Thus we notice the European Horse is
Avingless, the Winged-horse is connected, as we
should expect, with Asia (Vide sup. p. 167). On
the fourth side of the Chest was depicted a goddess
to whom the name of Artemis, as the nearest
corresponding G-reek divinity, was given. ' Artemis,'
says Pausanias, ' I know not why [i.e., it was a style
of artistic treatment quite un- Hellenic] has wings at
the shoulders, and in her right hand she holds
a leopard, and in the other hand a lion;' With this
I'epresentation we may compare the curious archaic
' Artemis ' of Dorylaion in Phrygia, who wears the
Kybele-crown, holds a small lion in her left hand,
and has curved wings. This holding of animals is
not merely thoroughly Asiatic, but also distinctly
Euphratean. On the Cylinders Gilgames, sometimes
Engonasin, holds up a lion (Cf. Cullimore, Oriental
Cylinders.! Nos. 39, 102). But it is to the wings
that I would call special attention. We know what
the wings of the Dorylaian Artemis were like, curved
(=' curled') ; and I think there is practically no
doubt that the wings of the Artemis of the Coffer
were treated in the same style. On the topmost
side of the Chest ' there is a Centaur, not with all his
feet horses' feet, for his forefeet are those of a man.
. . . And the tradition about the Centaur is, that
Cheiron, although he had been removed from men,
and had been thought worthy to be a companion
with the gods [z.e., had been translated to the skies
as a constellation-figure, Centaurus]., returned to

214 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

earth to comfort Achilleus.' In my E. S. R.
Part IV. Figs. i. ii. I have reproduced two engraved
gems from Western Asia, the first of which shows
the Centaur with feet as described by Pausanias,
and curved or curled wings on his horse-back,
holding up a Boar ; the second type shows him,
Avith his forefeet those of an eagle, and curled wings
from his human-back, holding up a lion. I need
hardly say that we have here an illustration of the
origin of the constellation-group Kentauros and
Thrrion (Vide sup. pp. 110-11). Now it is evident
that the artistic treatment of the Kypselan Centaur
was similar, though doubtless varying in detail, to
that of the Centaurs of the gems. In the case of all
these representations — Centaurs, types of Artemis,
Pegasos, we have the archaic Oriental curled wing.
And therefore it is practically certain that the wings
of the winged Horses depicted on the Chest were of
the same type. Two types of Pegasos, figured by
Lajard ( Culte de 2Hthra, PI. xliii. Figs. 21, 27), one
showing the Demi-horse ; beneath, a star, exhibit the
same treatment of the wings. They are, however,
not archaic, but probably reproductions of the
archaic type. Still they are interesting, as a time-
honoured design is frequently preserved with very
little alteration through many centuries. We thus
get the Winged-horse of Korinthos firmly connected
with two Asiatic strangers Bellerophon and Pelops.
It is also sacred to the Great Goddess (whether
called Astarte, Kybele, Rhea, Artemis Ephesia,
etc.), Poseidon, and Aphrodite ; also to the Semitic
Sun-god (Cf. 2 Ki7iijs, xxiii. 11 ; Pans. II. iii. 2)
who, under the name of Helios, ruled over the
Akrokorinthos together with the Armed Aphrodite
(Ibid, II. i. 6 ; iv. 7), of whom Hera Akraia (Vide

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 215

sup. p. 212) is a phase. The Horse is winged
because solar, and demi because at times the sun is
but partly seen. The same reason applies to the
Bull, Ox, or Cow, at times demi, like the Moon with
which it is specially connected (Vide R. B. Jr., V.
Fig. xix. The Lunar Bull. From Hamath). The
Winged-horse, as noticed [Sup. p. 213) was familiar
to Lykians, Phoenicians, Hittites and Babylonians.
(Vide also R. B. Jr., //. D. Fig. Ixv. The Horse.
From a Euphratean Boundary-stone). Another early
Korinthian type is ' Forepart of fij^ing Pegasos.'
The Euphratean instance above mentioned shows the
head and forepart of Horse upright on an altar, the
whole inclosed by a cii'cular arch in two bands.
A third early Korinthian type, i.e., prior to B.C. 500,
shows the ' Head of Pegasos.' In forming the
constellation-figure the second of the three types
mentioned, i.e., the Demi-horse was selected, the
reason being that certain stars were obviously
connected with the head and forelegs, and there
was no room in the heavens for the whole animal
on such a scale, the figure being bounded by the
JZodiac and Andromeda too closely to permit of
a further extension. A fourth Korinthian coin-type,
cir. B.C. 430, shows ' Bellerophon naked . . riding
on bridled Pegasos flying r.' Rev. Chimaira.

The Chimaira (^//iat/sa = Lat. capra), a fire-
breathing She -goat with lion-head and serpent-tail
,(iZ. vi. 181), is generally connected with volcanic
phenomena in Lykia. ' The merely physical meaning
-of the Chimaera,' says Mr. Ruskin, ' is the cloud of
volcanic lightning, connected wholly with earth-fire,
but resembling the heavenly cloud in its height and
its thunder ' ( Queen of the Air, i. 29). But whatever

2l6 PIIIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

else the Chimaira may be or represent, it is also
a 7/3yXXo?, a combination-figure of Signs, like the
Euphratean Scorpion- Sagittary, and the many
sportive examples in Classic art. It is in fact
a constellational combination Leo + Capella- Capri-
corn + Serpens, which together fairly represent the
zodiacal band; and all these, thus linked together,
are vanquished by the Sun in his amiual course.
It is not therefore surprising to find on a Vase (^Cat.
Gk. and Et. Vases in the Brit. 2Iiis. Vol. ii. 1893,
Xo. B. 1G2, p. 115) the solar Herakl^s, assisted by
his faithful comrade lolaos (= Ph. lul, ' contractum
ex lubal, lual, splendor Baalis ' Gesenius.) attacking
the Chimaira, although this event is not elsewhere
recorded. Similarly, the solar Dionysos slays the
serpent Kampe (Apollod. I. ii. 2 ; Diod. iii. 72),
the 'Caterpillar,' i.e., the creature that turns and
twists ; that is, the Sun in his resistless progress
destroys the time-cycles (Vide R. B. Jr., G. D. M.
ii. 72 et seq., where the subject is fully considered),
the Serpent-of-eternal-years, sometimes tail in mouth,
which his own solar coiirse marks out.

Other Korinthian coin-types, also constellation-
figures or connected with them, are : Boio, Bowl.,
Biicranium, Bull (demi), Club, Dog, Dolphin, Eagle,
Eagle and Dolphin, Ear-of-corn, Fish, Grapie-cluster,
Gorgun-head, llarp)e (Vide sup. p. 180), Lyre,
Serpent, Tripod, Urn, and Wreath.

We further find Aphrodite, Poseidon, and the
Bee, Gryphon, Trident, and Wheel, all of which
have an Asiatic connexion.

The remaining type or symbol on the Korinthian
coins is one of much interest and which we have not
liitherto met with, a Censer {©vfiiarr^piop), an object

v] co:n'stellations and coin-types. 217

frequently figured upon the Cylinders. I have
elsewhere (Vide L. K. 0. sees, xvi., xvii. ; Z. p. 15
et seq.) shown very strong, if not absolutely
conclusive, reasons for believing that the original
Sign of the seventh month, called in Ak. Tul-hu
('The Illustrious-mound') was a circular Altar
grasped in the Claws of the Scorpion, a Sign which
has been reduplicated in the present constellation
Ara, below the Scorpion (Vide sup. p. 67). This
Altar, though small, was yet considered as of great
importance, part of which is derived from its con-
nexion with the original zodiacal Altar. Aratos
calls it ' a mighty Sign,' speaks of ' the southern
Altar's sacred seat,' and devotes an unusual amomit
of space (^H. D. 402-35) to a consideration of it;
whilst Manilius says ' Ara mundi templum est '
(^Astron. i. 427). Euphratean altars, like Classical
altars, were of various kinds, square, pyramidal,
and pillar-shaped. Some of these latter are small
altars of incense with circular covers. A cylinder
(Lajard, Culte cle Mithra, PL xlix. Fig. 2) shows
one of these Altar-censers guarded by two Scorpion-
men, one on either side (= Darkness, morning and
evening, guarding the Sun), and which supplies a
further instance in art of the connexion between
Scorpio and Ara. But the Euphratean Altar-censer
clears up a question which pei-plexed the learned
Ideler, who, having observed that the Arabs call
Ara El-midschmara ('the Censer'), remarks: —
' The ancients were not agreed on the form of this
figure. The Ovrijpiov of Aratus and the Ara of
Cicero, Manilius, Hyginus and Avienus is a sacrificial-
table ; the Ovfjuarripiov and Thurihulum of Ptolemaus,
Geminus, Vitruvius, and Germanicus is a censer.

2l8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

The former is on the Borgian Globe ; the latter is
represented on the Dresden.' The reason of this
is now apparent; both were archaic Euphratean
variant forms of an altar. Ideler continues: — 'In
Eratosthenes [_{.€., in the Katasterismol, which was
ascribed to Eratosthenes] this constellation is called
Ne/cra/j tj @vTi^piov. What Ne'/crap means here I know
not^—(Sternnamen, \:)p. 2S0-1). KeJdar, according
to the late usage of the word, means ' fragrance,'
and here simply = Thuribulum. The constellation
is called Censer or Altar^ and we can now see
why. It is, therefore, very interesting to find the
Thi/)niatcrion, like other constellation-figures, as a
•coin-type.

The coin-types of Korykra have been already
referred to {Sujk p. 203). Those of the other
Korinthian colonies require no special mention, being
to a great extent reduplications of the types of the
mother-city.

XXIII. Achaia.

1. Ai(j(il. Dove, volant; Demi-goat, head of
Dionysos. These coins are early, b.c. 500-431, and
the Goat is the protagonistic type. It is easy to
explain the selection as being merely based upon
play of words (atf, i.e., the ' springer,' ' rusher,'
atVtV, which certainly means ' goat-harness,' vide sup.
p. 130, whatever else it may signify) ; but this
view, even if correct, appears to be by no means
exhaustive. Few animals are more important in
mytliology than the Goat, whilst Capella and
Capricorn stand in the front rank of stars and
constellations. The Goat is curiousl}^ connected with
Storm and the Storm-god, alike on the Aryan,
.Semitic, and Sumerian sides (Vide sup. p. 129).

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 219

On the Aryan side there is, amongst others, an
etymological link (dt^-diWcu), and on all sides
a singular link with a Charioteer. Thus, the Yedic
solar Goat-god Pushan is ' the most skilful of
charioteers ' {Rig-veda, XI. Ivi. 3), 'drawn by sure-
footed goats ' (7/n'rf. Iv. 4, 6). The car of the Norse
Thorr, a semi-solar Storm-god, called Akethorr
(' Thorr-the-Charioteer'), is drawn by the Storm-
goats Tanngnjost (' Teeth-gnasher ' ) and Tanngz-isner
('Fire-flashing-teeth'). The Semitic and Hellenic
solar Goat-god Dionysos is called Melanaigis (Paus.
II. XXXV. 1), ' Clad-in-a-black-goat-skin ' = ' Wrap-
ped-in-dark-storms.' So Gubernatis (^Zoological
Mythology, i. 402) explains the Aryan mythological
(joat as ' the sun veiled by the gloom.' Similarly,
in the Euphrates Valley we find the Ak. Storm-god
Meri, or Mermer ('the A^'ery-glorious ' ) , also called
[Jras ('the Veiled') closely connected with the
Goat, as I have shown at length (Vide E. S. R.
Part i. 21 et seq.). And this Veiled-one, in As.
Raminu ('the Exalted'), the Rimmon of 2 Kings,
V. 18 (where the vowel-points are wrong), the

'Vafidr o v-^i(TTO<; 0eo?' of Hesychios (Cf. the pdfiav TO

{jyjro'i of Steph. Byzant. in voc. Laodikeia) , ^
Melanaigis ; whilst the name Ramanu was afterAvards
erroneously connected ' with a root signifying " to
thunder'" (Sayce, Rel. And. Bahs. p. 202), and
written Rammanu ('the Thunderer'). To pass
from the stormy solar Goat to the stormy stellar
Goat, Aratos, speaking of Aigokerds- Capricorn, the
Muna-kha (' Goat-fish ') of the Euphratean sphere,

>says : —

' Grievous blasts
Break southward on the sea, when coincide
The Goat and Su,n' (H. D. 291-3).

220 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

And of the Charioteer and Capella he says : —

' If you -would see the Charioteer and stars
Belonging to him, if of Qoat and Kids
Report has reached yon— they who oft behold
Men tossed about on the dark stormy sea —
All his huge form towards the left of the Twins
Inclining, you will find. On his left shoulder
The sacred Goat which men say offered Zeus its dug;
Zeus' servants call it the Olenian Goat.
She is both large and bright ; but they — the Kids —
Shine somewhat feebly on the wrist of the hand ' {S. B.
156-66).

And again he says : —

' Yet speed not quickly with the Charioteer
Kids or Olenian Goat ; on his vast hand
They shine, distinguished from his other limbs
For raising storms, when moving with the Sun '

{Ibid. 679-82).

If we turn to the Cylinders Ave find few scenes
more frequent than what -\I. JMenant, in his remarks
on the Collectivii de Clercq, 1888, calls ' Sacrifices
du chevreau ' ; and in instance after instance whether
on Cylinders (Vide Col. de Clercq., Xos. 163-7) or
sculptures (Vide R. B. Jr., E. S. R. Pt. i. Fig. 5) the
Groat, or some connected animal such as the Ibex, is
supported on the left arm of a god or of a votary, is
in fact ' the Olenian Goat,' ' c'est-a-dire portee sur le
bras, Q)\evri, idna ' (Delambre, Rist. de VAstron. Anc.
p. 64). The imitative Latin poets faithfully, if not
slavishly, reproduce this stormy stellar Goat. ' Insana
Caprae sidera' (Hor. Car. III. vii. 6) ; ' Pluvialibus
Hoedis Verberat imber humum' (Ver. Aen. ix.
668-9); ' Olenie signum pluviale Capellae ' (Ovid,
Fas. V. 113). I have noticed (^Sup. p. 130) that
a Sumerian name for the star Aix-Caj)eUa vvas Askar
(' Goat '). It was called in Bab. Iqu., from the Sum,-

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN- TYPES. 221

Ak. ik^ ' door,' ' gate,' as being the patroia-star of
Bab-ili, Babilu ('Babylon,' i.e., 'the Gate-of-the-
gods ' ; cf. Gen. xi. 5 : ' Yahveh came down to see
the City '). The name Iqii also harmonized with
Alx.1 and, with the Arabs, became Al-m/ydq, whence
the Alaioc, Alhajok, Alhajoth, etc. of mediaeval planis-
pheres. But this Goaf, it will be observed, reappears
in Kr^te, and, like the Bears, is a Zeus-nurturer, and
called Amaltheia, a name as yet unexplained. The
reason why certain Hellenic names have hitherto
defied all interpretation, is that they are not connected
with any principle of etymology, but with style of
script, the Semitic boing read from right to left, the
Hellenic from left to right, and the fashion ^ovarpocprjSov
being a compromise. Ainal = the Sem. UAinma (' To
Amma ') read Hellenlcally, i.e., from left to right.
Ammd (' Mother ') is the great Mother goddess of
Western Asia, who was identified with Rhea. So
Hesychios : — 'Afj.fid<;' ^ M'^vp- ''"''' v '^ea. Ama (1)-
0eia = ' the Divine-mother.' And this Zeus-suckling
Goat-mother is also called Aige, daughter of Olenos
(Hygin. Poet. Asiron. ii. 13) or the ' Arm' on which
she was carried. The carrying of the sacred Goat on
the arm has thus advanced from the Euphrates
Valley to Kr^t^. Aige was assisted in nurturing
Zeus by her sister Helik^ (Ibid.), ' the Twister,' by
some also called a daughter of Olenos and by others
a daughter of Lykaon, who is connected with the
Phoenician cult of Zeus Lykaios (Vide Berard,
Cultes Ar. pp. 49-93). Aige was changed into the
Goat-&tsiV Aix, Helike into the Bear^ which ' twists '
around the pole.

I am not here attempting to deal exhaustively

222 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [V

with all this intricate comjalication; but am mei'ely
indicating some of its tangled threads and their
original Euphratean connexion. Yet it is really very
curious to find Aig^ and Helik^ again located side by
side, and this time on the coast of Aigialos ('the
Country-on-the-sea-shore '), afterwards called Achaia
(Paus. YII. i. 1). Here they appear as two very
ancient towns specially devoted to the cult of
Poseidon (Cf //. viii. 2*03; xx. 404), the Lord of
Krete. The name Aigai is particularly connected
with this god, for at Aigai in Euboia was ' his famous
abode in the depths of the sea ' {Ibid. xiii. 21) ; and the
link between them is not the Goat simply, which is
not a specially Posidonian animal; but the Storm,
wliich is connected with the god of the Aigaion,
and probably the Goat as connected with the Storm.
In Babylon itself the Cxoo^-star was the Storm-star.
Thus in the Tablet of the Thirty Stars, 1. 50, we read: —
Kahhah Dil-gan [another name for Ashar'\ = kakkab
J/a-a-ti/.: Jla-d-tu Tin-tir-h', 'The Star Messenger-
of-light = the Star Tempest (i.e.), the Tempest of the
Abode-of-Ii[U',' a name for Babylon. Matu, the
Tempest-god, had been the agent of vengeance
against mankind at the Deluge ; and Gapella, the
Tempest-star, is sacred to him.

2. A/geini. Demi-goat, head and neck of Goat
in Wreath.

3. Dyme. Fish.

4. Pelleiie. Lyre, Barn's head, Tn'jpod, Wreath.

5. Phliai/s. 7J»// walking; hutting; I)e7ni-buU,
butting ; Grape-duster.

6. Silcyon. Dove (protagonistic type), Lion, Lyre.
XXIV. JElis. Eagle (protagonistic type) volant,

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYrES. 223

holding in beak Serpent; volmit, tearing I/are;
volant; head of; statant, on If ((re. G or non-head^
Wreath.

XXV. Kephallenla.

1. Kr anion. Bow; Bull., head of; Gorgon-
head ; Ham., head of; demi, statant, foot of.

2. Pale. Dolphin; Dog, he?id ot ; Bam.

3. Same. Dog, scenting, running, seated ; i^w//,-
head of ; Bam ; Wreath.

XXVI. Zaky>ithos. Altar, Boivl, Bucranium, I^yre,.
Pegasos, Tripod, Urn, Wreath.

XXVII. Kythera. Head of Aphrodite, wearing
coronal {stephane).

Bull, head of; Dove, volant; volant, holding

Wreath.

After speaking of the temple of Aphrodite Ourania

(^'Aschtharth ]\Ielekhet Aschamaira) at Ashqelun,

Herodotos ( i. 105) observes, ' I find that the temple

at Askalon is the most ancient of all the temples to

this goddess. For the one in Kypros, as the Ivyprians

themselves admit, was built in imitation of it ; and

that in Kythera was erected by the Phoenicians, who

belong to this part of Syria.' The temple in Kythera

was ' the most holy shrine of Ourania, and the most

ancient temple of Aphrodite there is amongst the-

Hellenes' (Paus. III. xxiii. 1). At Athenai also Avas a

temple of Aphrodite Ourania, who, says Pausanias

(I. xiv.6), ' Avas first worshipped by the Assyrians, and

after the Assyrians by the Paphians amongst the

Kypriots, and by the Phoenicians who occupy Askal6n

in Palestina.' As Aphrodite = Astarte-Istar [i.e.,

'Daughter-of-heaven'^), and ' Semiramis was Istar'

1 Tbe etymology of Istar at once appears on a comparison with
the ccgnate dialects: — Sum.-Ak. Is(-tar), Magyar Is(-ten),

224 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

(Sayce, Herod, p. 362), I will here notice the
connexion Avith the Dove, the protagonistic type of
the island of Kythereia, an Homeric AphroditS-name
(^Od. viii. 288). Many held that the great shrine of
the goddess of Hire (Vide inf. p. 262) was one ' of the
Arorks of Semiramis, of Avhom so many exist in Asia,
and that she set it up in honour of her mother
Derketo. I saw a statue of Derketu [ ^^ A-targatis,
'Atar-'Ati. 'Ati = 'ASa, 'the Babylonian Here'
(Hesychios), the Phrygian and Tlian goddess Ate,
confused by Homer Avith Athe-na.] in Phoenicia, and
a strange sight it is, half woman, Avhile the half from
thigh to toe extends as the tail of a fish ... In
support of the legend they have the clearest
evidence : — They consider fishes something sacred,
and never touch them. In the case of birds, though
they eat other birds, they abstain from eating the
Dove, and this they hold sacred. These practices
they consider are due to Derketo and Semiramis, the

Kamacintzi 'Escli, Arintzi Eisch ('God'), Tenissei-Ostiak Es
(' heaven ') ; for, as Castren observes, ' Allen altaisclien Volkern
am meisfcen den himmlisclien Gott Es verelrren ' {Die Finnische
Mythologie, p. 228). He gives Asa and Yzyt as south Siberian
forms {Ibid. p. 186). The v?ord reappears in the well-known
Etruscan Ais-&T (' god,' or^ rather ' gods.' Vide Suetonius,
Augustus, cap. 97; Hesychios: Aio-of 6eoi vtto Tvpprjvwv) . The
tar in Is-<ar=:the Ak. tur, 'small,' 'young' (Cf. Ak. tur-vak,
' little-woman,'= daughter) ; Finnic tar, ' son,' ' child,' tj-tar,
' girl ' ; Mordvin tsora, ' son ' ; Magyar, der, ' girl ' ; Asiatic
Turkic tura (Vide Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, pp. 300-1),
Etruscan etera, 'child.' J«-iar = ' Heaven-child.' Tar is the
most common ending for the names of the female mythological
personages mentioned in the Kalevala, the great epic poem of
Finland; e.g., Etele-<ar (a daughter of the South-wind), Ilma-
tar (Daughter of the Air), Kaleva-far (the Daughter of Kaleva,
= ' Hero '), Lowya-iar (tbe Daughter of Tuoni, the god of
•death ; cf. the Ak. god Tu, ' Death '), etc.

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 225

former because Derketo wears the form of a fish, the
latter because Semiramis ended by changing into
a Dove' [Peri tes Sy. The. xiv.). Diodoros (ii. 4)
explains the name Seiniramis thus : — '-'O-n-ep earl Kara
TTjv tS)v Zivpwv BidXeKTcov Trapcovo/jbaa/jievov d-TTO rcbv
irepicnepmv. The famous Avhite doves which the
Persians often drove away as offenders against the
yellow (golden) sun (Herod, i. 139), were sacred to
the white Moon-goddess, Lebhan^-Leukothea. In
Assyrian the Dove or domestic pigeon is called
Summdtu, in modern Arabic hamdmat or zamdmat ;
and Diodoros thus refers to the connexion between
the Aramean form of su-m(a) -mat-2c and the name
Se-mer(i)-mis. But this resemblance is merely a
'paronomasia, and Semiramis probably = Semi-
Aramis. The goddess Simi, with which name Prof.
Sayce compares that of the Hamathite divinity
A-Shima (2 Kings, xvii. 30) was the daughter of
Hadad or Adad, ' a special name applied to the god
Ba'al ' (Hommel, Anc. lieb. Trad. p. 22 ; cf Hadad-
ezer, 2 Sam. viii. 3), Adodos, king of the gods
(Sanch. i. 7), in the cuneiform called Khaddki, Dadda
and Addu. ' Accipe quid Assyrii de potentia solis
opinentur. Deo enim, quem summum maximumque
venerantur, Adad nomen dederunt. eius nominis
interpretatio significat Unus-unus [ = the Euphratean
Dumuzi-Tammuz, 'the Only-son']. Hunc ergo ut
potentissimum adorant deum sed subiungunt eidem
deam nomine Adargatin ' (Macrob. i. 23), i.e., 'Atar-
'Ati. Adad and 'Atarati thus form a divine pair,
and as Simi is the daughter of Adad, so is Semiramis
of Derketo ; but Adad, the earlier form of whose
name was probably Hodad, South Arabian Wadd, is
the ^aaiXeh 0ea)v, and ' Aramis was probably the

15

226 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

name of the supreme god of Carchemish' (Sayce, in
Trans. S. B. A. vii. 260, n. 3), where we meet the
name Aramis-sar-ilani ('Aramis-is-king-of-the-gods').
Thus Sar-ilflni is translated by Bao-tXei/? Oewv^ and
Aramis, identical or identified with Adad, is sire of
Semi-aramis (' Simi daughter of Aramis') = Semi-
ramis. Connected with Aramis, a Hittite name, are
the Armenian name Arame, the Homeric ' country of
the Arimoi' (//. ii. 783 : iiv 'Api/uLoi^^^ 'Inarime, ' Ver.
Aen. ix. 716), and king Arimos (Xanthos the
Lydian, ap. Strabo, XIII. iv. 11). 'Ati or Ada is
a Hittite name, for 'Esav married 'Adah, daughter of
Elon the Hittite (Gen. xxxvi. 2). The names
' Assyrian ' and ' Syrian ' are often used very loosely
by Classical writers; the 'White Syrians' (AevKoavpoi)
were Kappadokians (Photios, Lex. in voc), I.e.,
Hittites. Syria was anciently considered to begin at
the river Halys (Herod, i. 6), and Katpatukka
(Kappadokia) included the whole of eastern Asia
j\iinor except Khilak (Kilikia). In the List of the
Kings of Assyria compiled by Ktesias, court
phj'sician to Artakhshatra I., from the Persian
archives, and which has been preserved with
variations by Eusebios, S}'nkellos, and ]Moses of
Khoren^, Semiramis is placed as ruling next after
Ninos (' = Nineveh.' Sayce.). This mistake has
occasioned the writing of a large amount of fabulous
history, e.g., most of the second book of Diodoros,
who relies mainly on the account of Ktesias. The
error arose thus :- — The first-known Patesi (' Priest-
king ') of Assur (Assyria) is a ruler called Isme-
dagan (^ " Dagon hearkened," — Dagon being another
name for Bel.' Hommel, Anct. Heb. Trad. p. 63 ; Vide
W. A. L III. Ixviii. 21). Da-gan (' the Exalted')

'y] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 2 2/

-would be regarded as = Aratnis, and Isme has been
■written Semi; hence Israe (otherwise Ishmi) -dagan
= Semiramis. In Diodoros, Semiramis is nurtured
by doves, found by shepherds, and taken to the
king's chief herdsman, ' whose name was Simma.'

The other coin-type of Kythera is the Bull's head,
and the myth of the Lunar-goddess and her Bull or
Bulls is both very archaic and widely-spread. In
■Classical times Selen^ is styled Taurokeros {Pseudo-
Orphic Hymn^ ix. 2), and her statue at Elis had
horns from the head (Paus. \1. xxiv. 5). According
to Olympiodoros, the Neo-Platonist, ' the ancient
-theologists ' said that ' the Moon is drawn by two
Bulls; by two, on account of her increase and
diminution ; by bulls, because as these [oxen ?] till
the ground, so the Moon governs all those parts
w^hich surround the earth ' (MS. Comment, on the
Gorgias. A Neo-Platonic explanation is almost
always Avorthless. For representations of the bull-
drawn car of Luna, vide Ottle}', On a MS. of Cicero's
translation of Arafus^ 1835, PI. xxi. ; R. B. Jr.,
V. Fig. xviii. ; Roscher, Lex. Part xxviii. p. 3137).
So Astarte ' placed the head of a bull on her own
head in token of sovereignty ' (Sanch. i. 7) ; and
appears on coins cow-headed or bull-headed accord-
ingly, as ' She-Baal, the Cow,' (Tobit, i. 5), the
Axiokersc ('Worthy-horned-goddess') of the Samo-
thrakian mysteries. From a Euphratean centre the
idea and the cult of a lunar goddess connected with
the bull, ox, and cow, have spread alike to India
(Vide Lajard, Ciilte cle Mithra, PI. Ixvii. Fig. 8)
and to the far West. She is the horned 16 ('the
Goer'), the wandering Crescent-moon; but the horns
•of the two bulls — the two semicircles — make together

15 *

228 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [T

the round full moon Kirke ('the Circular,' vide
11. V). Jr., K. 22-o), and her zodiacal reduplication is
the lunar Tauros, whose symbol («) shows the full
and crescent-moon combined, and is also, as in the
archaic Euphratean ideographs, a rough represen-
tation of a bull's head and horns (Vide E. B. Jr.,
V. sec. ix.). The Bull ( = Ifi/ades) and Dove (^
Pleiades) make up the constellation Taurus.
XXYIII. Messenia. Eagle., Trljiod.

XXIX. Lakonike. Chih., 'between the stars of
tlie Dioscuri ' ; Eagle ; Goat ; Ideraldes., head of, in
Lion-skin- ; IVreath.

XXX. Argolis.

1. Argos. Altar., Boiv., Bucraniuin., Cluh., Crah,
Dolphin, Eagle, Grape-cluster, llarjpe. Horse (head
of). Swan.

Wolf. With this, the protagonistic type,,
may be compared the Thcrion, included by Aratos
in the constellation Iventauros, and subsequently
called Lupus.

Near Argos was located the contest of Herakles
with the Crab {Sup. p. 145).

2. Epidauros. Head of Askl^pios {j= Ophiouchos,
vide sup. p. 169).

The Asklepios of Thrasymedes, enthroned and
attended by his Dog and Serpent. His wife
Epione (Paus. H. xxix. 1) is merely tittlov, 'gentle,'
personified. His daughter Hygieia ('Health') 'does
not seem to have been recognized in the city until
the time of the Antonines ' (Percy Gardner). His
cult having been accepted by the Hellenes, he is,
in accordance with the principle of Like to Like,
brought into association with a divinity between
whom and himself there was supposed to be a certain

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 229

resemblance, and thus becomes the son of ApoUon
by his bird the Crow (= Korax), personified as the
nymph Ivoronis.

3. KIcvnai. Plead of lleraldes in Lion-skin,
Lion's head.

4. Tiryns. (_t rape-duster, head of IISraHes in
Lion-skin, Liire.

5. Troizen. Head of Athene. Rev. Trident ; (2)
Trident, in field three Dolphins; (3) Trident and
Dolphin. ' The Troizenians,' says Pausanias (II. xxx.
fi), 'reverence their country, if any people do. And
they saythat Oros^ \^= Tzur-os, i.e., Tyre. Cf. ^Za>p6<;,
quem conditorem Cathaginis facit Appian. 8, 1
(is Tyrus),' Gesen. Script. Lijig. Ph. p. 415] lived
first in their land,' which was called Oraia after him.
This statement naturally rather perplexed good
Pausanias, who remarks that Oros seems to him to
be an Egyptian, not an Plellenic, name. He thus
continues the mythic pedigree : — LeJis {^= Sem.
Laish), daughter of Oros (Cf. Jtuhjes xviii. 7, where
Laish, as a locality, is a daughter of Phoenicia),
became by Poseidon the mother of Althepos ('the
Healer,' = Asklepios). This genealogy affords an
interesting instance how such pedigrees were at times
composed. Here the invading city is personified as
the first dweller in the country ; then a place-name
connected with her, is married to one of her divinities,
the offspring of the union being another of her
divinities. It is thus that we must deal with much
of the mythic history and genealogies preserved by
Pausanias ; rightly understood they contain a very

1 It may be observed that the Bab. god-name Uras (Vide
p. 219) reappears in ' the Assyrian king' Horus of Pliny {Mist.
Nat. xxx. 51 ; vide Sayce, Eel. And. Bahs. p. 152),

230 PKIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

valuable residuum of archaic Hellenic records, sucL
as we find scarcely anywhere else. During the reign
of Althepos one of those disputes between Hellene
and Phoenician, so many of which are noticed by
Pausanias, arose. The mythic form is carefully
preserved, so we read, ' They say that Athena and
Poseidon had a wrangle about the country, and
determined to hold it in common, for thus Zeus
ordered them to do. And on this account the}'' [the
Troizenians] reverence Athena naming her Polias
[' City-goddess,' a title the female equivalent of
Melqarth] and Sthenias ['the Strong'], and Poseidon
they name "King,"' i.e., Melekli (Cf. the Ammonite
gods ]\Iolekh and ]Milk6m, 1 Kings xi. 5, 7 ; Zeus
Meilichios, etc.). The mixed population of Troizen
thus, after the Phoenician fashion, resolved Poseidon
and Athena into a divine Pair, Melekh and ]\Ielekhet-
qartha (= Gk. Astyanassa), the 'King' and the
' Queen-of-the-City.' ' And thus their ancient coins
bear as a device a Trident and a head of Athena.'
We observe the accuracy of Pausanias in his account,
and also that Troizen, like Athenai and the Odysseia,
bears witness to the great contest waged between
the Aryan Athena and the Phoenician Poseidon,
and the forces which they respectively represented.
'And after Althepos Saron reigned.' SarOai is merely
the Sem. Seren, ' Prince,' plu. Seroium, a title only
applied in the Old Test, to the five ' Lords ' of the
Philistines. Hence we may learn that the invaders
established at Troizen one or more governors bearing
this title of the land of Poseidon-Dagon. Jsext
follov\'s the usual baseless story, this time invented
to explain how the Saronic Gulf got its name,
Saron pursued a stag right out to sea, was naturally

■V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 23 1

drowned, and the sea was named after him. ' They
do iiot know who reigned afterwards until Hypares
and Anthas.' Hyper^s [= ' the God above,' El-'Eliun
{Gen. xiv. 18), the Scham^-m^rum (l,afj,rifipov/j,o<;)-
Hypsouranios of Sanch. i. 3] gave his name to the
neighbouring island, which was called after him
Hypereia (Plout. Kejjh. Hel. xix.), afterwards known
as Kalaureia, and now Poro. Anthas ('the Blooming,'
/.(?., the Sun-god), was supposed to have founded the
Boiotian town of Anth^don (Pans. IX. xxii. 5); and
the brothers form another Pair of Heaven-god and
Sun-god. ' These were sons of Poseidon and Alkyon^
daughter of Atlas.' Alkyon^ the Pleiad is a chief
daughter of Atel ('the Darkness' — Atlas) who
upbears (== brings into sight) the starry vault.*
Ea-Poseidon, god of the deep, is sire of Marduk-
Merodach, the Sun-god, who in another phase is
the 'Blooming' (Anthas) but short-lived Tammuz.
Hyperes = Ramanu, Hadad-Rimmon (Zech. xii.
11), Ehamas (Vide sup. p. 219); and, in a planetary
sense, Hypsouranios, as Movers and Bunsen show,
= Saturn. Such, in brief outline, are a few of the
points connected with the coin-types of Troiz^n
(Vide R. B. Jr., Sem. III. ix.).

XXX 1. Arkadia. On the earlier general coinage
of the Arkadians the Eagle appears, accompanying-
Zeus Aphesios ('the Releaser').

1. Alea. Head of Artemis. Rev. Boio. It must
be remembered that in Arkadia under the name of

1 In the treasuries of Epidamnos at filis was a carving in
cedar-wood by Theokles, whicli represented the world npheld
by Atlas, and Herakles and the Tree in the Garden of the
Hesperides with the Serpent (Drakon) coiled round it (Paus. VI.
xix. 5).

232 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Artemis we meet with one, if not moi'e, non-Hellenic
goddesses. Thus the divinities or phases of divinity
called Brauronia, Diktynna, Ephesia, Eurynome,
Heurippa, Hippia, Kalliste, Orthia, Taurika, etc.,
some of which have been referred to, are all linked
together under the name of Artemis for the want of
a better. At Alea were temples of Artemis Ephesia
and of Dionysos, and at the annual festival of the
latter, women were scourged, as the Spartan boys
were scourged at the temple of Artemis Orthia
(Pans. VIII. xxiii. 1). We thus notice a cruel and
im-Hellenic cult common to the two divinities. The
town was said to have been founded by Aleos (=
'EX,teu9' Zeii-; iv @7j^ai<;, Hesychios ; the 'EXiovv of San.
i. 5, who was called Hypsistos; El-'Eliun, sup. p. 231,
after whom one of the seven gates of Thebai was named
the ' Hypsistan,' Pans. IX. viii. 3) son of Apheidas
(' the Unsparing '), who is said to be a son of Arkas,
and, as M. Berard has shown {Cultes Ar. pp. 268-9)
is one of the three phases of the latter. ' Areas, le
h^ros-enfant, le dieu-soleil, est un triple dieu I'infernal
Apheidas, le celeste Elatos, et le fort Azan,' which
latter personage is Azeus, a hero of the Boiutian
Orchomenos, and ' en S}'rie, sous le nom d' "Alwv,
un fils de Melqart, fondateur d'Aza ou Gaza.' At
every step we are led back to the Semitic East.
Thus, to continue the pedigree, the son of Aleos
was Kepheus (Paus. \lll. xxiii. 3), who bestowed
his name upon the adjoining town of Kaphyai. We
here meet with the mysterious constellation-fio-ure
Kepheus (Ph. A^^i, ' Stone.' So ' Simon, who is
called neVpo?', — Ki?^5?), the King, described as the
son of Eliun, the chief Phoenician divinity.
2. Uerala. Boii\ Dolphin, Tripod, Urn.

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 233

3. Kleltor. Said to be so called from Kleitdr
('the Eenowned'), a son of Azan (Paus. YIII.
xxi. 2). Bull, butting; Centaur, brandishing branch.
The constellation-figure Kentauros in the Hipparcho-
Ptolemy Star-list is represented as carrying- a Ovpa-o'i.
Horse, head and neck of, bridled ; prancing.

4. Mantineia. Altar ; Bear ; Bear, head of
(Vide inf. p. 256) ; Dolphin, held by Poseidon.

5. Orchomenos. Kallisto (Vide inf. p. 263)
seated, falling back, pierced by an Arroio ; behind
her young Arkas stretching out his arms.

6. Pheneos. Bull, Ear-of-corn, Mare, Bam,
Demi-ram.

The somewhat unusual coin-type of a Mare is
accounted for by the usual baseless story. They said
Odysseus once lost his horses and found them here.
As a matter of fact the place possessed temples of
Poseidon Hippios and Artemis (= Astart^) Heurippa
(Paus. VIII. xiv. 4), the Pair of Semitic horse-
divinities. The whole region also is much associated
with H^rakles. Here was shown the tomb ' of Iphikles,
brother of H^rakl^s, and father of lolaos (Mde sitp.
p. 216). And lolaos the Hellenes say laboured in
most things with H^rakles ' (Ibid. 5).

7. Psojyhis. Fish. The protagonistic coin-type
is a Stag, an animal which does not appear amongst
the primitive constellation-figures of the Grreeks ;
but, according to Prof. Sayce, it is found amongst
the Euphratean constellations (Vide R.B. Jr., E. S.R.
V. 28), and an antelope is often figured on the
monuments, whilst the Stag occurs as an Ephesian
coin-type, and is connected with the cult of Artemis
Ephesia. The Greek and Phoenician sphere contains

234 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

a selection from the Euphratean witli certain variations
and additions.

8. Stymphdlos. Head of youthful H^rakl^s in
Lion-skin. llev. Head and neck of crested Bird.

Heraldes, naked, running, holds Lion-sMn
and Boiv.1 and strikes with Cliih.

Bow and quiver.
' Stymphalos, the founder of the town, was the
third in descent from Arkas the son of Kallisto '
(Pans. VIII. xxii. 1). The name is very interesting.
Thus, we find ' Sf embed, filius Masinissae Polyb. 37, 3,^
ubi edituni est Srifi^avov (lege 'S.re/MJSaXov) . Contractum
est ex Mastanabal' (Gesen. Script. Ling. Ph. p. -il^),
' prob. clypeus Baalis ' (Lbid. p. 410 ; vide .'<u]j. p. 203,
the Boiotian Buckler of Herakles, Lat. (di/pens). Xear
this very ancient town (Cf. //. ii. 608), clearly of
Phoenician foundation, is located the scene of the
contest between Herakles and the Demon-birds
(Siij). pp. 34, 132). 'Concerning the Stymphalos
river there is a tradition that once man-eating birds
[Vide the Bird on the coin] lived there ; and these
birds Herakles is said to have killed with his arrows.
But Peisandros of Kameiros (Vide sup. p. 150) says
that Herakles did not kill the birds, but onl}^ scared
them away with rattles ' (Pans. A'lII. xxii. 1).
As the Euphratean ]\Iarduk fights with and over-
comes three Demon-birds (Vide Lajard, Cidte de
Mithra, PL Ixi. Fig. 7), or contends with his arrows
against a single Bird {Ibid. PI. liv. B. 11), so Melqarth-
Herakles, in the sphere, kneeling, from his bow
shoots an Arrow (= the constellation Oistos- Sagitta)
against the three constellations the ^a<//e, the Vulture
(= the Euphratean Raditartalchu, the Ltimmergeier,

v] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 235

Heb. Tartalc, 2 Kings xvii. 31), and the Bird ( Orm's),
otherwise the *S'/r«», Kykna.^, another persona<^'e
killed in battle by Ilerakle?. The Vulture is also
the Ph. constellation Kinnnr ('the Zither') = Lyra.
On a familiar Floi-entine (jrem, o-enerallv figured in
illustrations of the twelve labours of H^rakles, ,he
is shown, kneeling on one knee, about to discharge
an aiTow at the three Birds, who are advancing in
a line against him. The KinnOr itself is practically
a weapon of H^rakles, for with it he kills Linos
(Vide sujj. p. 35). As a raging Sun-god, also
a representative of the Phoenician human-sacrifice
ritual, he is constantly, in the myth, slaying those
near and dear to him (Vide R. B. Jr., Sem. Ill,
viii. XXX.).

9. Tegea. Gorgon-head ; Warrior with Dug ;
Athena with Gorgon-head, which she places in a vase
held up to her by Sterol^.

Athena handing Kepheus, who faces her, the
Gorgon-head ; between them Sterope, who holds up-
vase to receive it.

This city, the name of which may be connected
with the Sem. Tekoa, Tekoah ('the Pitching' — of
tents), a name agreeing in sound but unconnected
Avith the Gk. ri'yn, ' a covering,' ?'.e., 'the Well-covered '
= ' Fortified,' is said to have been founded by Aleos
{Sup. p. 232) ; and is particularly connected with
Apheidas (Pans. VIII. xlv. 1), the tomb of whose
daughter Leukon^ ('the White-one,' = Leukothea)
was shown there (Ibid. xliv. 7). ' They say that to-
K^pheus son of Aleos it was granted by Athena that
Tegea should ahvays be impregnable : they say that
the goddess cut off and gave him a lock of the hair
of Medousa (' the Protecting ') for a protection of the^

^36 rRIJIITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

city' (Ibid, xlvii. 4). Tliis is the scene referred
to on the coin-type ; Sterop^ (' the Bright,' ' the
Lightning-flash'), one of the Pleiads, and mytho-
logically married to Ares, the Storm-god, holds up
a vase to receive the head. This obscure and intricate,
but most interesting, myth becomes lucid when we
recall the position of Baal Tzeph6n-Keph(=Kepheus),
the god of the north, of storm, and of the thunderbolt,
Avho is reduplicated in the constellation-figure/w/yjAews.
Athena, on account of her warlike character, is at
times considered by the Greeks as the equivalent of
the war-goddess Astart^, the armed Aphrodite ;
so much so indeed that by some she was called
Hippia (Ibid. 1), for which the usual baseless story
Avas invented ; though, as Pausanias well notes, the
great majority of the Greeks did not so style her.
When the myth is reduplicated in a stellar connexion
Krphens^ from his outstretched hand, drops the Gorgon-
head {^ Perse i, Algol, i.e., ' the Ghoul') down towards
the Pleiades, where Sferopc, the Storm-pleiad, is
ready to receive it. The Tegeatans said that their
country obtained its name from Tegeates, son of
Lyk&on (Ibid. xlv. 1), i.e., the votary of Zeus Lykaios
(Ibid. ii. 1), the solar Baal of the Semites, and that
the wife of Tegeates Avas ]Maira daughter of Atlas
(Vide inf. p. 279). Tegeates is merely a personifica-
tion of Tegea, but the tradition links the place with
the Phoenician cult, and, as is constantly the case,
the stellar cult and stellar reduplication are found.

XXXII. Hellenic Italy. The coin-types of the
Greek cities in Italy present the same general features
as other Hellenic coin-types. The Gryphon, Bull,
Eagle, Ear-of-corn, Dolphin, etc., appear much as
elsewhere. I append a few specimens.

V] CONSTKLLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES. 237

1. Elea. Dolphin, Demi-lion^ Lion, Quadriga.

2. Kroton. Bull, Crab, Eaijlc, Eagle devouring^
Serpent, Ear-of-corn, Ilerakles seated on Lion-skin,
Tripod. Some coins not later than B.C. 600.

3. ^fefapontion. Bowl, Bird, Biicranium, Ear-
of-corn, Lions liead.

4. NeapoUs. Man-headed Bull, Dolphins, Grape-
cluster, HeraJclrs, L^yre, Serpent, Tripod.

5. Poseidonia. Poseidon with Trident. Rev.Bidl.
Poseidon. In field, head and neck of Sea-
monster ( Cetiis) .

Bull, butting on waves ; below, Dolphin.

6. RMgion. Bird, Boio and quiver, Charioteer,
Eagle, Ear-of-corn, Hare, Lion's head.

7. Syhnris. Bidl, Fish. Poseidon, thro wing-
Trident. Eev. Bull.

8. Taras (Tarentum). The Spartan Phalanthos
' took from the Barbarians Taras, the greatest and
most prosperous of their cities on the sea. They say
the hero Taras was a son of Poseidon and of a nymph
of the country,' and the city was called after him
(Paus. X. X. 3, 4). Taras, then, was a ' barbarian *
name ; in fact it is a variant of the Ph. Tars, Tarsos
('the Strong'), and Taras = the Baal Tars, Zeus
'^rarsios. There are more than five hundred varieties
extant of the silver coins of the city. The first
type is : —

Head of Zeus. Rev. Eagle, with open wings,
on thunderbolt.

This corresponds with the Tarsan coin above
noticed (Sup. p. 165). Zeus, Jupiter = Baal.

The Grape-cluster appears on the coins of Taras,.
as on those of Tarsos {Sup. p. 167).

238 TEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [v

Horseman placing Wreath on head of his
Horse ; in field Rudder and Shell (Murex).

Ilcrakles, with Lion's scalp. Eev. Charioteer
in biff a.

Taras on Dolphin; in r. hand Boid (the
Bakchic kanthar), in 1. Trident. Melikert^s-
Palaimon (= ]\Ielqarth-Baal-hamon) son of Poseidon,
is similarly dolphin-borne (Cf. Pans. I. xliv. 11);
his statue at Korinthos showed him ' standing on
a dolphin' (Sup. p. 212).

Other Coin-types are the Ghih, Horse, Sea-horse,
Heraldes strangling Lion, and Tripod.

9. Terina. Bird, Crab.

10. Thourion. Bird, Bull, Dog, Dolphin, Horse,
Byre, Sea-horse, Tripod.

XXXIII. Eastern Hellas.

1. Phanagoreia. Bo/r and Arrow, Bull butting,
Prow, Tripod.

2. Kromne. Dolphin, Fish, Grape-cluster, Urn.

3. Sinope. Head of Eagle ; beneath, Dolphin.
Eaiile on Dolphin (Cf. the positions of the constella-
tions Aefos and Delphis).

Grape-cluster, Prow, Tripod.

Poseidon, in r. hand, Dolphin, in 1., Trident.

4. Jfi/rleia. Gibbous Bull, butting. This is the
type of the zodiacal Tauros (Vide P. B. Jr., 30 S.
Fig. 1, p. 23). Grape-cluster, Lyre, Tripod, Wreath.

5. Kalchi'don. Bull standing on Ear-of-Corn.
This interesting type is thoroughly Euphratean in

character. In C. E. A. Fig. 7, p. 11, I have given
a copy, from an unpublished Tablet in the Berlin
Museum, of the Bull with the Ear-of-corn, the
Istar-symbol, = Tauros -f Parthenos ; and the
same combination appears on a Cylinder of black

V] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYrES. 239

marble in the National Library, Paris (Figured in
Perrot, Hist. Art in did. ii. 145). It is a great
mistake to suppose that such a design alludes merely
to the ordinary operations of agriculture ; and one
simple proof of this is the monumental connexion
between the Bull and the Lunar-crescent, repre-
sentations of the Bull apparently in the air (Vide
E. B. Jr., C. E. A. Fig. 8), and in other circumstances
wholly unconnected with matters terrestrial.

Bull, head and shoulders of. Rev. Triangle
{= Deliotoji) , formed by three Ears-of-('orn.

6. Kios. Prow ( = J.?"(/o-type), ornamented
with Star.

Bowl^ Club, Eagle, Ear-nf-corn, Grape-cluster.

7. Heralcleia Pontikt'. Head of Herakles wear-
ing Lion-skin. Rev. Demi-hull, butting. Bow,
Club, Grape-cluster.

Thus, a comparatively slight reference to Hellenic
and connected coin-types reveals the fact that
constellation-figures simply swarm amongst them ;
and, not only so, but that' probably every single
constellation, except Orion, is, in some way, repre-
sented upon the coins. The foreign divinities
Poseidon with his Dolpiliin, Dionysos with his Bowl,
Aphrodite (== Parthenos) with her Ear-of-corn, and
Herakles (^^Engonasin) with his Club, Bow, Arrows,
and Lion-skin, appear in innumerable instances.
Kepheus is shown, and Kassiepeia as Britomartis,
and Perseus as represented by the Gorgon-head and
his Ilarpe ; whilst Andromeda is probably figured on
a coin of Rliodos and on a coin of Kyzikos {Sup.
p. 178) showing a female head, which, as usual,
has been in despair regarded as an Artemis. Arkas,
the Bearward, is there, and Asklepios, the Snake'

240 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [t

holder. There is the Urn, the special symbol of
Hydrochoos-Aquarius ; the Archer, the Charioteer,
and the Ticins (Dioskouroi).

And, when we turn from human figures, there, in
great variety of types, are the Serpent, the Horse, the
Boljdiin, the Lyre, the Bird, the Eagle, the Arrou-,
the Crown (= TPreoi/f), the Ram, the -B«//, the
Grah, the Z/on, the (rortf, the Fishes, the Cluster ers,
{= Dove and Grape-duster), the Do^/, the //are, the
^/i?yj {=Pruic, etc.), and the Tripod, connected
with Deltoton.

There, too, in fewer instances, are found the Bear^
the Triangle {Deltoton), the Scorpion, the Sea-
monster, the Altar, the Centaur, the Water-snake,
and the TVow.

The last constellation is the Stream (Potamos),
which I have shown in a special monograph (P.) was
originally 'that gi'eat river' the (Classical) Euphrates,
which in the Old Test, is simply called ' the River.'
The Piver and River-gods of divers forms, personi-
fications of their several Streams, frequently appear
on coins.

But further: unusual types such as the Gibbous-
hull, the Demi-hull, the Demi-horse, the Pegasos, are
found alike on the coins and amongst the constel-
lation-figui'es.

Lastly : the contiguous position of figures on
the coins in various instances agrees Avith their
celestial location, and suggests a harmony and
connexion in idea between the two arrang-ements.
Thus we find together alike on the coins and in
the heavens : —

Heraldes + Arrow {Sup. pp. 178, 194).
Her aides + Serpent {Sup. p. 190).

y] CONSTELLATIONS AND COIN-TYPES, 24 1

Lwn (skin) + Water-snake + Crab (Srip.
p. 190).

Eagle + Dolphin (Suj). p. 216).

Pegasos + Fish {Sup. p. 167). Horse and
Fish appear together on a fragment of a vase from
Tiiyns (SchUemann, Tirgns, 1886, p. 99).

Serpent-holder, = Ophiouchos + Ojiliis {Sup.
p. 228).

Two Fish-heads^ = Ichthyes {Sup. p. 177).
And there may also be cases, e.g., the Eagle and
Hare {Sup. p. 194), in which a coin-type indicates
an astronomical fact. The Goat {Aigokeros) and
Dolphin, adjoining constellations, were also at times
■connected in art (Vide Athen. x. 84).

Thus, an immense series of coins, from clr. B.C.
700, shows ns, in greater or less abundance, the
constellation-figures as their types and sj'^mbols,
with the single exception of Orion, about whose
antiquity. as a constellation we require no evidence
from this source. The testimony of the coins
exactly agrees with that of the Greek Avriters from
Eudoxos to Hesiod ; and when we remember the
conservative character of mankind with respect to
their sacred traditions and religious beliefs, we may
feel assured that all or nearly all of these figures
were familiar to the mind of man, in some special
association, for centuries ere they were impressed
upon his coinage.

16

CHAPTER YI.

Homeric References to the Constellations.

AVe learn from Proklos that the great Epic Cycle
purported to relate the history of the past, so far as
it concerned the Hellenes, from the marriage of
Ouranos and Gc down to the death of Odysseus by
the unwittinij hand of his son Tele2:onos. Of some
of the works contained in this Cycle even the names
are lost, but the titles and a few unimportant
fragments of the following compilations have come
down to us, — the Titanomacliid, Dauais^ Ainnzonia^
Oidipodeia, Thehais, Ep'uionoi^ Minyas, Oichalids
AIosi's, Kj/jimi (after which in order of time came
the IN/is)^ Aithlopis, Ilias Mikra, lliou I'ersis,
Xostoi (after which in order of time came the
0(li/ssei<() and Trlegoiieui. AVhocA^er may have written
these works and at whatever date, it is certain that
their loss has deprived us of a vast fund of highly
valuable information. The Ih'as and Odysseia
always present themselves as chapters in a great
historical story; and an immense number of inci-
dental references in them, presuppose a general
knowledge of this history on the part of their
auditors. Here, therefore, as in the case of the
Tragics, an enquiry such as the present suffers from
the loss of an immense quantity of valuable material.
We possess two superb stones, in a way complete in
themselves, and two only, of those which originally
formed the archaic temple of Hellenic history,.

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 243

tradition and belief. AVliat details we may have
lost it is impossible to say ; but, to take an instance,
in the Kypria was related the murder of Palamedes
(Vide sup. p. 137) by Diomudes and Odysseus
(Vide Pans. X. xxxi. 1) ; and had we the full Cyclic
account of this hero and his achievements, it is more
than probable that we should possess a reference to
the constellation-figures, and possibly an account of
them.

Another branch of epic hexameter poetry consists
of the Homeric Hymns. Their date is altogether
doubtful (b.c. 800-500), and they contain no direct
reference to the constellation-figures. We find,
however, the Dolphin in special connexion with
Dionysos and Apollon, whose Delphian shrine is
constructed by Trophonios ( = Baal Tropha, ' Lord-
of-health.' Teruplioh, LXX. h-iUia. Vide Berard,
Cultes Ar. pp. 293-4) and Agamedes (' the Great-
measurer,' vide sup. p. 138 ; cf. the wise AgamSdG,
II. xi. 740, who ' knew all drugs as many as the
wide earth nourishes'), representatives of the Semitic
building-power {Hym. eis Apol. 296). Hermes is
connected with the Tortoise and Lyre (Vide siqj.
p. 34); and, when sacrificing, he cuts the spoils
into 'twelve parts, and a full gift -of-hon our he
offered to each' {Hym. eis Her. 128-9)— of the
twelve divinities. At the period when the Hymn
was written the theory of twelve great gods was
fully established, and this number is not arbitrary
but monthly and zodiacal (Cf. the twelve compart-
ments of the rim of the Boiotian Shield, sii/J. p. 206).
Each of the twelve months of the Euphratean Year
was presided over by one or more divinities; and it
is very interesting to notice that when the twelve

16 *

244

PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

[VI

Euphratean Signs of the Zodiac reached Hellas, what,
I may call, Euphratean principles obtained in the
allotment to each of an Hellenic divinity as its
specially ruling power. And the same method
naturally holds true with respect to the planets. As
Istar ( -- Astarte- Aphrodite) was goddess of the
' Star of the morn and eve,' so to the Greeks Hesper-
Phospher became the Star of AphroditS, or, as the
Latins said, of A^enus. As Nabiu or Nabu (' the
Proclaimer ' — of the Sun), called by the South
Arabians Anbai, the prophet and messenger of the
gods, was the analogue of Hermes, so the Star of
?^abu became the Star of Hermes, or, as the
Latins said, of ]\[ercurius, a god in origin wholly
unconnected with the son of Maia. The Star of
r>ilu-]\Iarud<iku (Bel-Merodach) similarly became
that of Zeus, ' the star of Jove so beautiful and
large.' The Star of Nirgal, the war-god, became
the Star of his analogue Ares, the Latin ]Mars.
Lastly, the Star of the ' implacable ' Ninip, ' a solar
hero who belongs to the darkness and not to the
light' (Sayce, Eel. And. Babs. p. 154), became the
Star of the deposed and fallen sun-god Kronos.
The following Table shows the Hellenic allotment
of planets. Signs, and divinities: —

Domiciles of the Planets with the Guardian

J) Moon— Sun Le6n Zeus

5 Mercury 9 Parthenos DfimetSr

2 Venus 5 Chelai Hgphaistos

i Mars (J Scorpios Ar^s

11 Jupiter 1i Toxotes Artemis

Hera Hydrochona |j Saturn |j AigokerOs Hestia

The principle on which the Signs were allotted

-The two highest

Sign-gods.

Hermgs

Karkinos

ApoUon

Didymoi

Aphrodttg

Tauros

Athena

Krios

Poseidon

Ichthyes

to the planets was as follows

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 245

' tlirones,' /.e., the two nearest to the solar position
fit the summer solstice, Karlinos and Leon, were
assigned, one to the Moon, and the other to the Sun.
The two next highest thrones fell to Mercury, as
nearest to the Sun, and so on. But there was
a real difficulty in allotting the Signs to the divinities,
inasmuch as whilst the former were Euphratean,
the great majority of the latter were purely Hellenic.
Suffice it here to notice the arrangement, as not
imconnected Avith the above mentioned passage in
the Hymn to Hermes.

We now pass on to consider the references to
constellation-figures and matters immediately con-
nected with them, which are contained in the Ilias
and Odysseia. There are few subtler and more
difficult subjects of enquiry than those which cluster
around these two mighty masterpieces, but with
questions of authorship, date, composition, etc., we
are not here directly concerned. One phase, however,
of both Poems grows yearly more clear to the
scientific modern student, viz., the vast extent to
which they bear traces, not merely of Semitic, but
also of distinctly Euphratean influence, whilst that
of Egypt, unduly extended by Lauth {Horn, unci
Aegypten), is proportionately small. To illustrate
this in detail would require a separate monograph,
and a few prominent instances must suffice. Poseidon,
a leading figure in both poems, particularly connected
with the Aithiopians (' the Sun-burnt ones,' Ocl
i. 22),is not merely the analogue, but is actually
the Euphratean Ea himself, changed by time and
circumstance. He most correctly describes (//. xv.
187 et seq.) the ancient tripartite division of the world
between Ana- Ann, the archaic Euphratean heaven-

246 PRIMITIVE COXSTELLATIOIS'S. [VI

god (of whom Zeus is an Aryan analogue), ]\Iul-lil
('the Lord-of-the-Ghost-world'), the Elder Bel (of
whom Aiduneus is an Aryan analogue), and himself
the Lord of the mighty deep. No purely Aryan
religion or mythology presents us with anything
like this, the unique and distinguishing feature being
that the Earth itself is not included in the division
(Vide R. B. Jr., Sem. pp. 120-2). The entire
Odi/ssei/, again, is a duel between Poseidon (Semitic
power) and Athene (Hellenic power), a contest
renewed at Athenai itself, and with the same trium-
phant termination for Hellas. The realm of the
dead is neither that of the Aryan nor of the Egyptian.
It is in all its features the actual Euphratean ' House
of Assemblage' {K. 162; cf. Job, xxx. 23) which
was reproduced in the Scheul of Israel and of
Phoenicia. Phoenicians themselves, whether or not
they include the Phaeacians, occupy an important
position in the poems. Arts and sciences are in
various ways connected with the Semitic East ; and
■other Euphratean personages, such as Aphrodite,
Dionysos, and Kirke, who is Istar, and whose myth
is merely a reduplication of that of Istar (Vide
R. B. Jr., AT.), appear as more or less prominent actors
in the story.

A writer, or writers, who knew so much must of
necessity have known more than is set down. We
do not suppose that Homer (I use the name in a
covering sense) was ignorant of the planet Jupiter
because he does not refer to it by name. And
although few things in literature are more familiar
than the Homeric passages in which particular con-
stellations are specially mentioned, yet the significance
of the most familiar facts is constantly being mis-

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTKLLATIONS. 247

apprehended or altogether unrealized ; and we shall
find on examination that the references to our old
friends the Pleiades, llyades, Arldos, Or«5/i,and Bootes,
necessarily imply far more than has been generally
perceived or admitted. Tlie immensely deadening
effect produced by great genius upon subsequent
time, — a melancholy fact, — has been never more
conspicuously displayed tlian in the case of Homer.
Becatise he names certain stars and constellations,
innumerable successors have done the same. Because
he speaks of Bootes ' that setteth after a long time '
or 'at length' (Od. v. 272), this characteristic is
again and again repeated b}^ later writers, e.g., the
^piger Bootes' of Ovid (Fasti, iii. 4:05), and the
'pigri sai'raca Bootae ' of Juvenal (Sat. v. 23) such
references being also a graceful Avay of showing a
literary education.

It is noticeable that nearly the whole of the
personages and objects which make up the constel-
lation-figures are to be found in Homer. He does
not mention Kepheus, but, according to Athenaios
(xiv. 32), he knew the name Kassiepeia, and v/rote
(//. viii. 305),—

K.aXr] ls.a<7cneireia 0eoL<; Se/xa? 'eotKvla,

and he introduces Eurynom^ (Ibid, xviii. 399 ; sup.
p. 155) who is merely a phase of Kassiepeia herself.
Perseus is ' most famous of all men ' (Ibid. xiv. 320),
whilst the Grorgon-head appears alike on the aigis of
Athena and the shield of Agamemnon. It is certain
therefore that the poet knew the story of Andromeda,
and he speaks of ' the Sea-monster' (Ketos, Ibid. xx.
147) against which Herakles fought, and says that
Amphitrit^ had 'many such' (Od. v, 421-2). CheirOn

248 PRIMITIVE COJvSTELLATIONS. [vi

(the Centaur)^ Askl^pios (the SnaJce-huIder), Gany-
med^s, often considered to be the Water (or Wine)-
pourer, Atlas the heaven-supporter, Orion, H^rakMs
with Bow and Arrow, the ship Argo, the beautiful
Sidonian Mixing-bowl {Kreth'^ II. xxiii. 741), the
Dolphin, as a kind of king. of fish {Ihid. xxi. 22), the
Lion and Bull {lUd. xvii. 542), the Eagle and Hare
{^Ihid. 674-8), the Eagle and Swan {Ibid. xv. 690-2),
the Bear, the Dog, the Twins, Kastur and Polydeukes,
are all familiar Homeric figures. It was a Water-
snake which had bitten Philoktctes {Ibid. ii. 723);
and, as of course, the poems speak of serpents, horses,
charioteers, archers, wreaths, lyres, birds, rams, goats,
virgins, doves, fishes, streams, altars, and tripods.
They do not, I think, mention crabs (which, however,
appear in the Batrachojnyomacht'a) ., crows and scor-
pions. Now setting aside for the moment the case of
Kuon, the only constellations undoubtedly referred to
by Homer are the Clusterers, the Bear, Orion., and
the Ploughman ; for the Bainy-ones I regard as an
asterism in a constellation. I am not in the least
contending that when he speaks e.g., of the Eagle
and Swan or of the Eagle and Hare, he has any
further meaning than to refer to them simply as living
creatures ; and Prof. D'Arcy Thompson will have
to deal with these passages (Vide sup. p. 141). But
I do sa}^ it is a singular fact that the poems contain
references to almost every figure which formed one
of the primitive constellations; and those not men-
tioned (crab, crow, and scorpion) were familiar to
everyone. And as in three universally admitted
cases he refers to these figures in their constellational
aspect, and with respect to one of them — Orion, both
in a constellational, and in a pre-constellational,

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 249

character, there is not the slightest reason to prevent
us from believing that he may have been acquainted
with eveiy one of the primitive constellations of the
Greeks, and referred to them all when he speaks of

TO, relpea Travra to, T'ovpavo<; ' eaTe^dvarai (Jiid. xviii. 485),

' all the Signs [not ' stars,' as in the corresponding
Hesiodic passage] with which the heaven is crowned.'
Certain critics, almost as of course, have suggested
that this is a spurious line, but have olFered no reason
worthy of the name in support of such a view.
Constellation-figures had existed centuries ere the
time of Homer, let that era be when it may. And
what possible motive could there have been for the
insertion of such a line '? And how abrupt and rough
in introduction the next line woidd have sounded
without it. Hephaistos wrought on the Shield ' the
unwearied sun and waxing moon,' and, omitting line
485, ' Pleiads and Hyads,' etc. Line 485 explains
why the poet does not say ' the Pleiads,' etc. But
having said ' All the Signs,' etc., he proceeds to
specify the usual protagonists i.e., Pleiads and Hyads
for the Zodiac, Orion for the Southern, and the Bear
for the Northern Signs. It is as if he had said,
'Pleiads and Hyads, and all the rest of them.' He
is not, like Aratos, writing a Phainomena. Xone
but a thorough poetaster would have spoilt a splendid
passage by the insertion of a long list of familiar
names. Let us hear no more of the contemptible
argument from silence. If Bootes., unnamed in the
Iliad, had not appeared in the Odyssey, how
triumphantly it would have been asserted that
Homer knew naught of him.

Old errors, however, die hard, and it will probably

250 TRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

be declared by some that Homer was unacquainted
(?.(/., with the Lesser Bear, whose introduction into
Greek navigation by Thales has ah'eady been referred
to (Si/j). p. 148) ; and the authority of Strabo will be
invoked in support of this contention. Let us there-
fore examine the question, fii-st noting exactly what
it is that Homer does say about the Bear. After
having mentioned in one passage the Pleiades,
If>/af/es, and Orhjii (II. xviii. 4(S6), and in another
the Pleiades. Jjfiofi's and Orn'ui (Gd. y. 272 et seq.),
he, in both passages (II. xviii. 487-9 ; Od. v. 273-5),
uses the same words, ' And the Bear which they
likewise call the Wain, which turns round without
moving away [avrov, ' there on the spot.' Paley.], and
keeps a watch on Orion, and alone has no part in the
l^aths of Ocean.' Pleiades, Ili/ades, Orion., and even
Bootes ' after a long time,' set. ' The Plouuhman as
he sinks the deep receives' (Aratos, If. D. 581-2).
Alone of all of them — not ' of all the Signs with
which the heaven is crowned,' — the Bear sets not.
Xow over this very simple statement Strabo and
many learned commentators, lumbering in his wake,
have strangely blundered. Strabo (I. i. 6) argues
thus :^How could the accurate Homer (' Homer, who
is most accurate in everything/ Athen. v. 6) have said
that the B&tr alone does not bathe in ocean when it
is obvious that many other stars do not? Therefore
by the Hear he did not mean the Bear (although he
made his obvious meaning still plainer by also
calling it the Wain) but — the Arctic Circle! If
' bear ' means ' arctic circle,' then anything may mean
anything else, and chaos is come again. But, he
continues, ' Let no one any longer blame his ignorance
in being merely acquainted with one Bear when there

■Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 25 1

fire two.' This notion of Homer's ignorance, and of
his being only acquainted with one Bear, arises from
the prior mistake as to his meaning, the argument
being, — The Bear alone of Signs does not dip
(Homer) : but the Lesser Bear does not dip : there-
fore Homer did not know of the Lesser Bear.
Strabo does not even observe his own inconsistency
for if, in Homeric parlance, Beiir=: Arctic Circle, the
Bear would have included both Bears, and there
would have been no ground for charging Homer with
ignorance respecting the L^esser Jkar. Xor, in this
case, would there have been any ground for the next
assumption of Strabo, who continues, ' It is probable
[Admittedly he knew nothing on the point. How,
indeed, could he have known the facts?] that
the second [i>ear] was not considered a constellation
until, on the Phoenicians [not Thales] specially
designating it, and employing it in navigation, it
became known as one to tlie Greeks.' ^\.nd why, he
might have asked himself, should the Phoenicians,
whose maritime activity was at a very high pitch
long ere the time of Homer, have waited until after
his time before they ' designated ' and sailed hj the
Lesser Bear. Why indeed? It is therefore obvious
that there is nothing in Strabo to make us think that
Homer was ignorant of the Lesser Bear ; and so it
becomes needless to notice the views of those many
moderns who have merely repeated the error of the
great geographer.

The only one of the five planets named by Homer is
Hesper-Phospher that walks a star amid stars, fairest
.and brightest of all stars set in heaven {LI. xxii. 317-8 ;
xxiii. 226; 6*^x111.93-4). Will it be contended that he
was io-norant of the other four planets ? If there can be

252 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

anyone who thinks so, let him re-read that superb
description of the clear starry heaven which closes
11. viii. and of which Tennyson has ^iven such
a matchless rendering, a night when ' the immeasur-
able heavens break open to their highest,' and when
' all stars are seen,' and then let him recant so
grievous a heresy. But, if the bard, Avhilst well
wotting Jupiter OY Mars or Saturn., did not choose to
name them, although he might readily have done so,
is it strano:e that he is silent concerning the Ram and
his fellows, when there was no reason in the story to
refer to them ? Or, again, when wise Odysseus
sailing by i:iight, — for stars are sent by Zeus as
portents for mariners (//. iv. 75-6)), a thoroughly
Phoenician opinion, — cunningly guided his craft with
the helm, as he viewed the Pleiads., and the Plough-
man, and the Bear keeeping watch upon Orion,
and was mindful to keep the Bear ever on his left,
did not he notice other stars and constellations ?
Above him blazed the Lion ; in front were the Twins
with Prohjbn on their left and the Goat (--i/.*') on their
right. He noticed Orion on the horizon at his right
front; and, as he viewed the Pleiads, he would of
necessity behold all these far more conspicuous stars,
as well as the Hyads, which, as they are mentioned
elsewhere, it will probably be admitted that he saw.
yes, he saw all these, but he had no names for
them ; nor had it ever occurred to him to link these
stars together as constellations. Human nature was,
it would seem, so exhausted with the grand effort of
grouping the stars of the Arktos, Hyades, Pleiades,
and Orion, that for centuries after it absolutely
forgot the art, just as an overworked brain suddenly
breaks down and becomes a blank. Is it possible

VI j HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 253

gravely to accept so ridiculous a theory ? I think
not, especially at the present time ; and therefore
I will now pass on to an examination of the constella-
tion-figures admittedly referred to by Homer.

I. Of1j)ii. The figure of Orion is one of almost
vmique importance in the study of constellation-
origins, because even the Homeric account of him
enables us to see that he, like every other Sign, had
a pre-constellational history, and was the develop-
ment and outcome of an earlier and simpler idea.
]\Ian necessarih' noticed light and darkness, day and
night, dawn and twilight, morn and even, sun and
moon, all of which formed grand natural pairs, before
he began to group stars together. The idea embodied
in each of the constellations was in existence long
ere the constellation itself; and there can be no better
illustration of this fact than the few and simple Homeric
references to Orion. The goodliest of men {(hi. xi.
310), he is beloved by Ens (the Dawn), and slain by
Artemis (the Lunar-power) in Ortygia (' Quail-land,'
Od. V. 121-4:. ' Flights of quails' are 'common in the
Archipelago.' Merry.), --= Delos. The gods, it is
said, are jealous Avhen goddesses openly mate with
man. This is a bit of human nature introduced to
explain a very simple fact, the real character of which
had long been forgotten. The slain hero reappears
in the IvTekyia, still as the Mighty Hunter, and driving
before him the phantoms of the wild beasts which he
had erst killed ' on the lonely heights,' ^ armed

1 ' The heavenly hills are lonely because the solar hero is very
frequently and naturally regarded as being alone.' As
' Dionysos he " wanders abroad through the boundless Olympos,"
the lonely Bellerophon, the unattended Orion, Melqarth who
hunts by himself [Mwoc Sc tVi Tqv Q-qpav Trore i^(XT]\v6uis, omen

254 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

witli a mipjhty mace [poiraXov) of bronze ( Od. xi.
572-5). I have elsewhere {<l. D. M. ii. 270 et seq. ;
E. sec. iv. ; K. p. 146 ef. seq.; Sem. pp. 172-3;)
treated of the Orion-myth in all its details, and to
these passages I refer the reader ; but surely no one
can doubt that Orion, whose name also appears .is
Urion, Aorion, Oarion (= Sem. Dry, ' the Fiery-one,' a
well-known proper name. Cf. E.f. xxxi. 2 ; 1 Kings,
iv. 19 ; Ezra, x. 24, + ci/;^), and who in Phoenician
Boiotia, which claimed to be his birthplace, was also
called Kandaon (Tzetzes, in Lykophron, 328) = Sera.
Kohain-dayan ('The Prince — the Judge'), in origin
is simply the sun, Dionysos ('The Judge-of-men,'
sup. p. 193). The blinded Orion (= the solar eye
quenched at night) recovered his sight by journeying
eastward through the Under-world (= the reappear-
ance of the solar e3'e next day). Hommel notices
that there are early traces in Pelosheth (Palestine)
' of a god Yara or Ari ' {Anc. Heh. Trad. p. 224),
who may be identical Avith Ori-on.

But alike ia Iliad and Odysseij Orion, whatever
he may have originally represented, has become a
constellation, not a star merely ; there has never been
any question on this point. Seven stars form the
Bear-Wain, the Pleiad, and Orlim. The giant
hunter, the sun gigantic as compared witb other
stars, has been reduplicated, in accordance with a

i<i>paTO MtXtVap^os, vtt' ov8evog ovt' i<j>avr] ovirunrore avrov Ta0os.
Sanchou. ii. 14], Dumnzi [^ Tammuz] the "Only son" o£
lieaven ' (R. B. Jr., E. p. 147).

1 Steinthal remarks that ' the formation of proper names of
men and places by the termination ore is excessively common '
(In Goldziher, Mythology among the Hebrews, p. 408, note) ;
and instances Dag-6n and Shimsh-6n (Samson).

Vl] HOMEEIC CONSTELLATIONS. 255,

principle which we shall always find in force with
respect to constellations, in a Sign inferior to none.

' And who, when night is clear,
Beholds him stretched aloft, need not expect
To see his better, though he search the sky '

(Aratos, H. B. 323-5).

But the reduplication does not end here. The
gigantic (Cf. Pindar, Istli. iii. 67 : ^vaiv 'riapbwveiav')
Orion, represented by the Boiotian poetess Korinna
' as a noble and pious man, a civilizer of the barbarous
country ' (K. 0. l\Iuller, Introcl. p. 347), the usual
role of the Sun-god, when treacherously blinded, was
kindly supplied by Hephaistos with the Kabeiric dwarf
Kedalion (' One-who-takes-charge ' — particularly of
the Dead) to guide his footsteps eastward ; and,
in the Kedalion of Sophokles, a satyric drama, Oriun
appeared with the dwarf or boy upon his shoulders.
Hence the proverb, which has come down to our own
time, that a dwarf upon a giant's shoulder sees more
than the giant can. I have given (//. I>. Fig. xxxi.
p. 39) a Phoenician design from Sardinia which
shows the blinded Orion represented as anOphiouchos,
— a feature which links him with Eschmun (A'ide
sup. p. 168) and Trophonios (Yide sup. p. 243 ;
Paus. IX. xxxix. 2) — with the dwarf standing on his
head. In other words it is Seirios, brightest of fixed
stars, ' the star of summer^ that above all others-
glitters bright after he has bathed in ocean ' (//. v.
5-6), ' the star that comes forth at harvest-time,
and plain seen his rays shine forth amid the host of
stars in the darkness of night,' this is the star ' which

1 Cf. Hesiod, Erga, 584-7 : ' The season of toilsome summer,,
when goats are fattest and wine best, and men weakest, when
tSeirios parches head and knees ' (Vide sup. p. 157).

256 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

men call by name the Bogoi Orion' (Ibid. xxii. 26-9).
Whilst the Orion-sun is blinded in the Under-world,
Seirios keeps watch above his head ; and, ' brightest
of all,' guides him, as it were, towards the healing
east. And, so, when Orion becomes a constellation,
Seirios attends the mighty hunter as his faithful
hound. In Egypt, of old, ' Sahu and Sopdit, Orion
and Sirius, were the rulers of this mysterious world
of night and stars'; and Sahu was 'a wild hxmter '
who chased ' the very gods themselves ' (Maspero,
The naicn of Civilization, 1894, pp. 96-7). Probably
Sahu, like Orion, is a reduplication of a Euphratean
original. In his constellation-references Homer has
passed into astronomy pure and simple. The state-
ment that the Bear watches Orlon^ is not in the least
mythological, but merely a poetic and conscious
personification of the two Signs. As an instance of
how Orion is constantly put forward as a protagonist
and representative of the constellations, in Is. xiii. 10
we read, ' The stars of heaven and the constellations
(Heb. Kis'iJhn, ' Strong-ones') thereof shall not give
their light' ; but the LXX. read 0(' •yap acnepe'i tov
ovpavov K.ai o 'Hpuov koI Tra? o KoafjLot; tov ovpavov k.t.X.

Here Orion heads ' the whole orderly-array of heaven,'
and he is par excellence Kesil ('the Strong-one,' the
Constellation, Job, ix. 9; xxxviii. 31 ; Amos, v. 8).

II. The Bear. This Sign is twice mentioned in
Homer, and as a constellation only. A sort of
formula is applied to it alike in Iliad and Odyssey
(Vide sup. p. 250), and it is also known as the
Wain. We will first consider the animal aspect of
this stellar combination. I have observed {Sup.
■p. 128) that the actual configuration of certain stars
naturally suggests particular figures ; and the seven

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 257

stars in question might conceivably, in themselves
and apart from any other considerations, have been
likened to a bear (Vide sup. p. 130), or to a
wagon or chariot. Prof. Max Miilier, having said
that ' there is not a shadow of a likeness to a bear '
in these seven stars, immediately qualified the state-
ment by showing that some tribes have regarded
them as being like a bear, whilst others have thought
them like an elephant {Lect. Sri. Lang. 6th edit. ii.
397). His own theory of the origin ofthe^ertr-
constellation is very familiar. This animal Sk.
riksha, Gk. arJdos, Lat. ursus, Kymric arth, is ' the
Bright-one,' ' so called either from his bright eyes or
from his brilliant tawny fur.' With this we may
compare the Makedonian name for the Bear — K.wov-n-e';
or Kz'fUTreu? (Hesychios), Vv^hich possibly = kwcott-)??,
' teri-ible-eyed.' But the stars are also the ' Bright-
ones ' (rikshas). 'The etymological meaning of
riksha, as simply the bright stars, was forgotten,' but
everyone knew that riksha meant ' bear.' 'And thus
it happened that when the Greeks had left their
central home and settled in Europe [It is quite
a question whether they ever were in Asia in pre-
historic times.], they retained the name of ArJdos for
the same unchanging stars, but not knowing why
these stars had originally received that name [All
this is pure hypothesis, j, they ceased to speak of them
as ch'Jdoi, or many bears, and spoke of them as the
Bear.' With this view of the matter Haug does not
agree, but, having observed that the ' Churl's Wain
(Ursa major )' is in the Avesta called Haptolring,
'in modern Persian haftwarang^' continues, 'This
word is highly interesting from its identity with the
ancient Vedic and Greek names of the same constella-

17

258 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

tion.' He then says that the form riksJia, ' bear,' only
occurs in Rlgveda, I. xxiv. 10, and ' according to an
account in the Shatapatha Brahmana, ii. 1, 2, 4 . . .
was changed afterwards into that of Sapta rishayah^
" the seven Rishis " [' seers,' ' prophets,' ' sages '], by
which name the stars of Ursa major are called in the
later Yedic hymns.' He concludes, ' In the Iranian
languages, however, the old name "the seven bears"
was faithfully preserved ' (Essays on the Parsis^ 1878,
p. 206). Now, first, how do we know that the
Hindus at any period ever called this constellation
'the Seven Bears' ? We do not Jciion- this; it has
been assumed because (1) riksha=^ arltos ; and (2)
the Greeks and Romans, ' apparently without rhyme
or reason ' (Prof. ]\Iax Midler. I.e., he does not know
the reason.), called the constellation (not ' the Seven
Bears,' but) the Bear. To which reasons I will add
(3) Hang's statement that the Avestic name Uaptoiring
means ' The Seven Bears.'

Let us turn to Bigveda., I. xxiv. 10. Aufrecht
(Die Hymnen des JRigveda, 1877, vol. i. p. 17) reads,
Ami ya r'lkshd nihitdsa uccn nulitam di'idrisre Ja'iha
cid diveyuJi. Grassmann {Rig-Veda, 1877, vol. ii.
p. 2-1) translates, ' Die Sterne dort hoch oben, die
sich zeigen des N.achts, wohin doch gehen sie am
Tage?' H. H. Wilson (Rig-Veda-Sanhitd, 1850,
vol. i. p. 63), Avho represents an earlier stage of
scholarship, and embodies the traditional rendering
of Sayawa, translates, ' These constellations jilaced on
high.' He misses the force of the question, but
observes, ' The constellations, Rikslidh, may be
either, it is said, the seven Rishis, Ursa Major, or the
constellations generally.' And, lastly, Prof. Max
Miiller himself renders the passage, ' These stars

"Vt] HOMERIC CONSTKLLATIONS. 259

iixed high above, which ave seen by night, whither
did they go by day' ? {Leds. Sri. Lanfj. ii. 396),
Now in all tliis there is not a word about bears.
TSTobody asked, ' These Bears, which are seen by night,
where do they go by day ' ? But — ' These Bright-
ones,' etc. The Bear may possibly have been so-
called 'from his bright eyes, etc,' but he certainly
does not seem to have been referred to in this famous
passage. Next, does Haptoiri?zga (Darmesteter's
form of the name, which he does not translate), or
Haptoiring mean ' the Seven Bears.' The Av. hapta
of course = Gk. hepta, Yedic sa/j»^fl, Lat. septem.
Haug says the modern Persian form is haftit-arang.
Here the Per. haft=Av. hapta. But varang, which
in modern Persian means ' a patch ; a darning ' (Stein-
gass, Pers.-Eng. Diet. p. 145) is surely not a correct
form. Dr. Steingass, a great authority on such a point,
gives, ^Haft aurang, The constellation of the (jrreat
Bear; the seven heavens'; and the primary meaning of
Aurang (p. 119) is 'a throne.' The Hapt6iri?^ga, later
called Haftoiring (Darmesteter, in Sacred Boohs of the
East, vol. xxiii. p. 89) are not ' the Seven Bears ' but
'the Seven Enthroned-ones,' seated on high 'in the
recesses of the north ' (Is. xiv. 13, Avliich compare in
connexion with the idea of height and the north).

Failing to obtain any explanation of the Bear-
constellation from a comparison Avith the primitive
asterisms of India and Persia, will Babylonia help
us to account for the form? There was a Euphra-
tean hahhah Dahu ('Bear-star' or ' constellation'),
Heb. Doh ; and Ave read, ' If the Star of the Bear
return, misfortune is in the land' (W.A.I. II.
xlix. No. 4, 1. 44). Moreover, the Rev. Wm,
Houghton, author of Gleanings from the Nat. Hist.

17 *

2 6o PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATION?. [vi

of the Avvient."^ and many admirable papers, and
who combined in a high degree the knowledge of
the Xaturalist and of the Assjriologist, was of opinion
that certain animal-names in the List in W. A. I. II.
vi. Cols. C. D. were astronomical bear-titles connected
with Ursa Maj. One of these names he rendered
' the bear making its crownship,' and explained it
by the circling ' of the Great Bear around the polar
star ' {Trans. S. B. A. v. 334). This view, however,
I am unable to accept, inasmuch as (1) The kaklcah
Dabu was a ' returning ' star, and so could not have
represented the ]Ffl/» -stars which are always above
the horizon. (2) The Tra?'n-stars were emphatically
not of bad omen. (3) I cannot get any such meaning
as ' the bear making its crownship ' out of the Ak.
name in question. (4) Delitzsch and Lenormant
do not understand any names in the list as having
any reference to Ursa Maj. And (5) we have
positive Classical testimony, which I have often
quoted elsewhere, that the two Bears were not
Euphratean constellations. Achilleus Tatios declares,
'Ek ry Ta)v AlyvTrricov a^aipaoine 6 ^puKwv iariv vof^^6fj,evo<>
7/ ovofia^ofievov ovre "ApKToi, ovre K.7](})ev<;, aW erepa
cr')('>jfj,aTa elS(o\cov. Ovtco Se Kal iv rrj tmv XaXSaiwi/ (E/'tta-

gdge, xxxix.). He had every means of knowing the
facts, and so far as we can test this statement aliter,
it is absolutely correct. Thus the Kemic constel-
lations of this part of the sky were the Haunch — of
an Ox (=:the Wam-stars), the female Uippopotanus,
the Crocodile, the Giant and (another) Crocodile^
the i?o», etc. ; and, as noticed {Sup. pp. 29-30), the
Serpent {Drakon) and Kepheus,y\'ere not Euphratean,
but Phoenician constellations. It must be remem-
bered also that a large number of Euphratean names

"V^lj HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. ,2 6 1

of stars and constellations which have not passed
into usage in the West, are to be found on the
Tablets ; and that various stars and constellations
have more than one, or even many, names.

At this point in the enquiry, as I have observed
elsewhere {Sem. p. 63 ei seq.), we are greatl}' assisted
by the learned and sober researches of Bachofen
(2)er Baer in den Religionen des Alterthums, 1863),
who has carefully examined most of the instances in
Classical literature where the Bear is referred to, or
where bear-names occur ; and who also gives various
illustrations of the Bear in Classical art. The result
thus arrived at, may be stated as follows : — The
Ancients were greatly struck, not so much by the
size, etc., of the animal, as by her extraordinary
affection for her young ; and attributed to her
strange and special powers of licking them into
shape, etc. Briefly, the maternal, and hence fostering
and kindly, aspect of the Bear, which in Greek is
always feminine, -n "ApKTo^, ' the fern.,' as Liddell and
Scott obsei've, ' being used even when both sexes
are included,' is the protagonistic idea in the mytho-
logico-rehffious treatment of the animal. The Semitic
world was equally aware of this same characteristic.
Only 'a fool in his folly' is worse to meet with
than 'a bear robbed of her whelps ' (Prov. xvii. 12).
To be 'chafed in mind, as a bear robbed of her
whelps' (2 Sam. xvii. 8; cf. Hos. xiii. 8) was
a proverbialism ; and the Bear of the shores
of the Mediterranean stands before us as Ursa
maironah's, symbol of that fostering love which Avill
do and dare all on behalf of the objects of its affection.
Such an animal naturally became connected with
the cult of the Great Goddess Mother of Western

262 TRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

Asia, and here M. Berard ably continues the
researches of Bachofen, observing, ' L'ours, comme
le cheval, est un animal sacr(^ des Syriens : dans la
cour de la deesse syrienne, a Hierapolis, il y a des
ours auprfes des lions, des aigles, des chevaux et de&
hoeufs ; tons ses animaux [all prominent constellation-
iigures,] sont apprivoises et sacres (Peri tes Syries
Tlieou^ xli. ; Renan, Fkenicie, p. 292) ; sur les
gemmes de Chypre et de Sjrie, I'Amoar apparait
souvent a cheval sur un ours ou jouant avec un
ours (0. Keller, Thiere des Klassisch. Alterth,
pp. 106-128) ; comme la vache et la cavale, I'ourse,
toujours en rut [' cette lubricite ' is merely ' pre-
tendue'], est la bete d' Aphrodite' (Cultes Ar..
p. 130). According to Porphyry, as Bachofen notes,
Pythagoras, who was a native of Samos, a locality
famous for the cult of the; Great Goddess, whom
tliere the Hellenes not unnaturally identified with
their Hera, speaking ' s}mbolically and in mystic
fashion,' calls Bears 'the hands (i.e., assistants) of
Rhea' (ra? apKTovi Pea? ^eZpa?), meaning apparently
that they Avere exemplars and supporters of the
dlgnitas wafroiialis. And this leads us directly to
Helike (the ' Twister ' — around the pole) and Kyno-
soura (popularly called JJni/s-fail, perhaps meaning
in Gk. T)oi/-gvard/<iii), Ursa Maj. and Ursa M/'i).,
themselves. For, when Rhea was about to give birth
to Zeus, she retired to Kretan Lyktos and hid the
infant in a cave (Hesiod, Theog. 477-S4), where he
was nurtured by two bears. And Aratos, repeating
the ancient story from Agaosthenes {Sup. p. 153) of
Naxos, says : —

' From Krete to heaven these [Bears] by the will of Zeus
Mounted, what time they him concealed a babe

■Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 263

In odorous Dikte, near the Idaian hill,

Within a cave and nourished him a year,

Whilst the Kouretes Kronos were deceiving ' (H.I). 31-5).

All or nearly all of the mythological stories about
the Bear, show the animal in the same kindly light,
and frequently in a Semitic connexion. A bear
suckles Atalante in whom ' nous retrouvions tons les
attributs de la deesse syrienne ' (Berard, Cultes Ar.
p. 131). Kallisto, the mother of Arkas, is turned
into a bear and then ' made into the stars called
the Great Bear ' (Pans. VIII. iii. 3) ; and Kallisto,
who appeared with her bear-skin in the great
painting of Polygnotos at Delphoi (Ibid. X. xxxi. 2),
is only Artemis Kalliste, the Semitic ' Reine-Mere.'
' Comme le mot semitique, dont il est la traduction,
KaXXia-TT) celebre tout a la fois la beaut(^ et la bonte
de la deesse ' (Berard, Cultes Ar. pp. 202-3). To
make the story intelligible to later ages, a strictly
human element is introduced in Euhemeristic
manner. Zeus becomes the faithless husband, Hera
the jealous wife, Artemis the avenging friend, etc.
But all this is merely a layer of dust and ashes
over the facts of the case. Arkas (Gk. ' The
Bright'), son of Zeus Lykaios (=Baal Khamman
or Hamon = Palaimon) and the beautiful (' Kalliste')
Phoenician goddess, at once virgin and mother, like
other youthful Sun-gods, dies and comes to life
again, and also exhibits the familiar Semitic aspect of
triplicity (Vide sup. p. 232). He naturally became
Arktophylax {Katas. viii. Hyginus and the Schol.
on Aratos and Germanicus agree.), the ' Bearward,'
a solar personage reduplicated, like Orion, in a
constellation, and also called Booths, the '■Plough-
man,' ^Herdsman,' or ^ Sh outer' — at the Bear.

264 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

Kallisto-Kallist^, the beautiful mother-goddess is,
like Rhea, connected with the Bear, and also Avith
the Semitic East ; and Ursa Maj. --= Kallisto (' the
Beautiful' — constellation). Again, we notice that
both the Bears and the Bearward-Flotighman, who
like Ursa Maj. is known by two different names,
are connected with the Semitic East. The same
idea of the Ursa Matronalls and the same connexion
between the Bear and the Semitic goddess, appear
in the well-known ritual of Artemis Brauronia (Vide
It. B. Jr., Sem. Part 11. xxi., where the matter is
discussed at length). And it is to be observed that
at Brauron . the bear-maidens passed ' round the
temple,' just as Kallisto in heaven passes slowly
round the saci'ed spot occupied by the Pole-star ; so
that their dance, like many others, was probably
connected with and to some extent imitative of the
eternal stellar dance, which ' the moving gems of
night,' as Aratos calls them, ever perform around
the central and highest throne. The Bear, then,
the nurturing fostering creature, remarkable in
itself, sacred to the Great Goddess, and not altogether
unsuggested by the configuration of the TFa/?? -stars,
was chosen in astronomico-religious thought to
guard the pole. Ursa Mln. with her seven stars
and long tail is an exact reduplication of Ursa Maj.,
and guarded the other side; particularly Avhen the
Pole-star, called in Euphratean parlance 'the Judge -
of-heaven ' (Ak. Tir-anna, Bab.-As. Dayan-same)
was a or a: Draconis. And this fact it is, which is
so pompously alluded to by Euripides when he
savs that the tails of the Bears ' s'uard the Atlanteian
pole' (Vide sup. 133).

An interesting illustration of the Ursa Matronalls

^^] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 265

aspect occurs in mediaeval art in the sculptures of
the ' Tower of Giotto ' at Florence, thus described
by j\Ir. Ruskin : — ' The next sculpture is of Eve
spinning and Adam hewing the ground into clods. . .
Above them are an oak and an apple-tree. Into the
iipple-tree a little bear is trying to climb. . . The
rigure of the bear is again represented by Jacopo
deUa Querela, on the north door of the Catliedral
of Florence. I am not sure of its complete
meaning' {Mornings in Florence, 4th edit. ISD-i,
pp. 159-60), The Bear, trying to get the fatal
apple, is thus connected with Eve, Universal ^Mother,
the great Ursa Matronal! s. As noticed (Sup.
pp. 176, 233) it appears on coins of Hadrianothera
and Mantineia. M. M. Imhoof-Blumer and Otto
Keller {Tier- unci Pflanzenhilder auf Mi'inzen und
Gemmen des Klasslschen Altertums, 1889, Tafel
xvi. 8) figure a gem which they thus describe,
' Sapphirin-Chalcedon-Scaraboid der Pai'iser Samm-
lung 1093. Zwei Biiren antipodisch um ein Schlange.
Es bedeutet die Constellation der Schlange zwischen
dem grossen und kleinen Baren' (p. 98). On this
Prof. D'Arcy Thompson remarks, ' They do not
state, and perhaps did not perceive, that there is a
deeper astronomic interest in this gem [' from Asia
Minor'], to wit, that as nearly as may be its centre
coincides with the North Pole of the heavens in the
epoch of classical Greece ' {Bird and Beast in Anct.
SymhoUsm, p. 190). So far as I am aware, there is
no other indication of the age to which the repre-
sentation belongs. M. M. Imhoof-Blumer and Keller
also figure several other gems representing bears.
M. Svoronos {Types Mon. des anciens, p. 116) is of
opinion that in the case of some Kretan coin-types,

266 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

Ursa Maj. is represented as a Cow, hence Bootes as-
'the Herdsman' ; and Ursa Min. as a Dog ('Chienne,'
cf. Kynosoura^ Kynoiqies), a Zeus-suckler. It
frequently happens that when animals become extinct
in any region, the creature supposed to be most
closely akin to them takes their place in art, myth,
and legend. Lastly, the Homeric Bear was not the
constellation as it appears in the Hipparcho-Ptolemy
Star-list, but Avas conterminous with the seven star&
of the Wain, which latter stellar concept I will next
consider.

The ordinary theory about the Wain is merely
that some early Hellenes thought these seven stars-
resembled a wagon ; and this, in the abstract, might
be perfectly true, only we could never know that it
was true. But, as on examination we find constel-
lation after constellation either obviously directly
borrowed from the Semitic East, or else connected
with it in different Avays, we are bound to enquire
if Wain- or CAarzb^stars appear in the Euphratean
sphere. And, little as we still know of this ; scattered,,
fragmentary and imperfect as are the notices of it
which so far we have been able to piece together,
as regards the TFciirt-stars the evidence is fortunately
clear and conclusive. These seven stars were called
in the Euphratean sphere the constellation (Sum.-
Ak.) Mar-rjidda^ (' the Long-chariot.' Tide Briinnow,
Classified List, ii. i^52. Xot ' Lastwagen,' as Prof.

'1 Jensen, Die Kosmologie der Bahyhitier, 1890, p. 148, wrongly
supposes that Margidda was near the ecliptic, because in W. A. I.
III. lix. No. 15, Eev. 1. 7, we read :— ' The Sun sets and in its
place the constellation of the Long-chariot is fixed.' The-
moaning is that the constellation was fixed in. its own place, not
in the spot where the Sun had set. At sunset the TFaw-stars-

Vl] HOMERIC CdXSTELLATIONS. 267

Horamel, Die Asfronomie der alien Chaldiier, iii, 4,n. 3,
renders it.), Avhich 'all the year is lixed' {kcd satti
izzaz, W.A.I. III. Hi. Xo. 1, Rev. I. i>4), I.e., around
the pole. And this simple astronomical dictum is
expressed, or possibly even translated, by Homer,,
when he says that it ' turns round without moving
away' and does not bathe in ocean (^Sup. p. 250),
The Bear was the Mediterranean, the Wain, originally
the Long -chariot, was the Euphratean, name of the
constellation ; which, like others, had various appel-
lations. It was particularly connected with Mul-lil,
Lord of the Under-world and the Night-world (Vide
S2ip. p. 246) ; and in this aspect was called Wul
(^ Mul) -rao-s«rra (' The Lord-the-voice-of-the-
firmament.' Mid or Wul = Bilii, Bel, Baal, 'Lord ').
Ltl W.A.I. 11. xlviii. 56 Jlargidda itself is described
as ' the Lord-of-the-Ghost-world ' (As. Bilu zakki
muti), which practically makes it a nocturnal mani-
festation of Mul-lil. High enthroned in the north,
by its sj)lendour it awed and ruled the wandering-
phantoms and powers of darkness. And this
description is also especially interesting, inasmuch
as it enables us to see clearly how thoroughly
Euphratean in origin are many of the Iranian
stellar fancies and beliefs. In the Iranian scheme
Haptoiringa (z=the Wain, vide sup. p. 259), the
leader of the northern stars, is ' entrusted with the
gate and passage of hell, to keep back those of the
nine, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand

become visible. Jensen's mistake is the more remarkable^
because the scribe goes on to say, ' the Sun sets and in its place '
this or that planet, star, or constellation is fixed. Surely he
does not suppose they "were all fixed together in the place-
of the Sun ?

268 TEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

and nine myriad demons, and demonesses, and fairies
(Pairikas) and sorcerers (Yatus) who are in oppo-
sition to the celestial sphere and constellations'
(Mmokhired, xlix. 15, ap. West). This is merely
an expansion and intensification of Margldda, ruler
of the ghosts.

The labours of Lacouperie have demonstrated that
a very early connexion existed between the civiliza-
tions of the Euphrates Valley and of China; and have
enabled me to show that the Chinese Lunar Zodiac
is Euphratean in origin (Vide R. B. Jr., E. S. B.
Part V.) Various Euphratean astronomical names and
ideas reappear in the earliest phases of Chinese
astronomy ; and ' the high honour always and every-
where paid to this grand constellation, which we call
Ursa Major, is well shown in its ancient astrological
Chinese title Ti Cheh (Schlegel, Urcuiog. Chi noise,
502, 706), the Chariot of the Supreme. Its more
modern Chinese name is Peh-Tow, Xorthern Bushel'
(O'Neill, Night of the Gods, ii. 938). Thus does the
Euphratean title of the Chariot appear to have
penetrated to the farthest East ; and the Phoenicians,
who were direct emigrants from Southern Babylonia
(Cf. Herod, i. 1 ; vii. 89), naturally introduced it
into Hellas. In the Babylonian sphere the Long-
fhariot was distinct from the Chariot (Sum.-Ak.
Gar, Bab.- As. Ruliihu, Heb. Relchev) of Auriga,
around which the Moon is described as circling
(ir. A. I. III. li. No. 9, 1. 28) ; and I apprehend that,
in accordance with the names Ursa Maj. and Ursa
Min., and with the stellar confio-uration, — for the
Leaser Bear also consists (chiefly) of seven stars situate
in a similar manner to those of the Greater Bear, —
the Bong (or Great)-chariot was so called to

Vl"l HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 269

distinguish it from the Little-chariot (= Ursa iWn.),
a name not as yet found in the Inscriptions, and
which in Ak. A\'ould be *Marturra. These two fiery
Chariots' guarded the sacred Pole-star, for, as-

Hipparchos says, "Eo-Tii/ Se ti? aaTr)p fxevav ael Kara tov
avTov TOTTOv. OvTO's 8e 6 aaTTjp ttoXo? earl rod Koafiov

(Ton. Arat. hd Eudox. Phai. i. 5). The idea of
protection by fiery chariots occurs in our own
Sacred Books (2 Kings, vi. 17 ; Ps. Ixviii. 17) ; and the
Pole-star is ' the god Dayan-same, which over against
the midst is bound' [W . A. 1. III. hi. A. 1. 58).

Hesychios gives "Ayawa- dfia^a . . . Kol 7] iv ovpavai

"ApKTo<;. It is quite possible that Aganna may have
been a local (Kretan) name for a wagon ; but more
probably it obtained that meaning because it was
a name of the Arlxtos-Amaxa. The form of the name
is thoroughly Akkadian, in which language it would
mean 'Lord-of-heaven ' (Ak. Ah-anna. Cf. Tir-aniia,
sup. p. 264 ; Ninsi-anna, ' Ladj'-of-the-garden-of-
heaven,' Venus; Gut-anna, 'Bull-of-heaven,' Taurus,
etc.). Various Akkadian astronomical names have
been preserved by Hesychios (Vide E. B. Jr.^
Bemarks on some Eujjh. Astronom. Names in the Lex.
of Hesychios, in The Bah. and Orient. Record, July-
August, 1887) ; and therefore there would be nothing
surprising in the circumstance. According ta
Clemens Alex. [Strom, v. 6), 'those golden
figures, each of them with six wings [which stood
in the Tabernacle], signify either the two Bears, as-
some will have it, or rather the two hemispheres,'

1 ' The square of the Little Bear was called by the Greeks-
and Romans the Chariot, or the Four wheels of the Chariot '
(Bansen, Egypt's Place, iv. 350). Ursa Min. was by the Latins
also called Plaustrum minus.

270 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

a foolisli notion, but one which shows the importance
ascribed to the Bearn.

III. TJie (Jlusterers. Throughout Greek literature
which has any relation to the heavens the Pleiads
are mentioned. In Homer they occur twice (//. xviii.
486; Od. V. 272), each time at the head of the
Signs ; and they form the subject of a long disquisi-
tion in Athenaios (xi. 76-83), which begins with a
consideration of the Cup of Xestor, ' four handles
there were to it, and round each two golden doves
were feeding' (//. xi. 633-5). The speaker in
Athenaios continues, ' So after the poet had represented
the cup of ISTestor as studded with stars, he then pro-
ceeds to the most powerful of the fixed stars, by
contemplating which men form their conjectures of
what is to happen to them in their lives, 1 mean the
Pleiades . . . He does not mean . . . turtle-doves
. . . But calls that constellation Peleiades which at
present we call Ple'uides ; by the rising of which men
regulate their sowing and reaping, and the beginning
of their raising their crops, and the harvesting of
them.' He then quotes Hesiod and Aratos on the
Pleiades, and proceeds, ' It is with great appropriate-
ness that the poet has represented the Pleiades, who
indicate the time of the generation and approach to
perfection of the fruits of the earth, as forming parts
of the ornaments of the cup of that wise prince
Nestor. For this vessel was intended to contain any
kind of food, whether solid or liquid ; on which
account he also says that the turtle-doves bring
ambrosia to Zeus, " By this way even winged things
may never pass, naj^, not even the timorous doves
that bear ambrosia to father Zeus " (Od. xii. 62-3).
For we must not think here that it is really the birds

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 27 1

called turtle-doves -which, bring ambrosia to Zeus . . .
but the daughters of Atlas, turned into the constella-
tion of the Pleiades or doves . . . And that he
considers the Pleiades as the most famous of all the
fixed stars is plain, from his having placed them first
when giving a list of other constellations . . . ^lyro
the Byzantian admirably caught the feeling of the
Homeric Poems, saying in her poem entitled Memory,
that the Pleiades convey ambrosia to Zeus . . . The
Pleiades are close to the tail of the Bidl^ -which was
sometimes, as on coins, represented as a Demi-bull,
■sometimes in full. ' There were four Peleiades on the
handles, and two more . . . under the pedestal . . .
and in that way there are six Pleiades in all, since
that is the number which are seen, though they are
said to be seven in number, as Aratos says.' As
Homer declares of the ambrosia-bearing doves, ' The
sheer rock evermore takes one even of these sx^vay,
and the Father sends in another to make up the tale,'
the speaker in Athenaios regards him as saj-ing
enigmatically ' that, though there are only six
Pleiades seen, still their real number is not actually
diminished.' Prof. D'Arcy Thompson agrees in the
connexion between the Doves of Od. xii. and the
Pleiades, remarking, ' Not to be dissevered from this
connexion is the story of the Dove of the Argonauts,
which flew between the clashing rocks in the passage
of the Hellespont. Was not that Boo-Tj-opo? a transit
through the Heavenly Bull, and is it going too far to
see in the Sym-Plegades a name (corrupt by popular
misunderstanding) akin to Plejades ' {Bird and Beast,
p. 185). Be all this as it may, I quote Athenaios
chiefly to show the great importance of this very-
famous and protagonistic constellation.

2/2 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

N^ext, as to the meaning of the name. Dr. Theo-
philus Hahn, in his excellent monograph Tsuni-\\
(ronin the Sujjreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi, 1881,
after having stated that amongst the Khoi-Khoi
(' Men-of-men '), who by the Dutch were contemp-
tuously called Hottentots ( ^ Low Germ. Hiitten titty
'Quack,' 'Gibberish-speaker'), the Pleiades are called
Khunuseti which means ' (1.) Those who stand
together : (2.) Those who are heaped : (3.) Those
who stand together like fingers : (4.) Those who
cluster together : (5.) The thorn-stai-s'; and having
compared this name with the Lat. Vergiliae, ^
' the stars of the offshoots, the stars of the branches,'
as connected with vinja (Cf. Jupiter Virgarius), says,
' Prof. ]\Iax ]\Iuller certainly has his reasons for deriv-
ing irXeiahe^ from TrXetuj but ... I think no objection
could be raised as to a derivation from the form
■jrkelwv (comparative) ; and thus TrXeiaSe? would mean,
" those who are in a heap, those who are many." '
After having noticed ' the TrXei'aSe?, or priestesses of
Zeus at Dodona,' he continues, ' In the woods ai'ound
the temple of Dodona were numbers of pigeons, which
were under the protection of Zeus. And when the
original meaning of -Tj-Xet'aSe? (the "heaped stars") was
forgotten, the word TrXei'a? (pigeon), derived also
from the same root, was applied to the priestesses
who sang the "Hymns of the Spheres" and were
called pigeons. When this etymology was forgotten^
the circumstance that at the rise of the Seven stars
on the eastern horizon the shipping season commencedf

1 CommoTily understood as the Stars of 'Spring' (Fer).
The reason for this is a very peculiar one. ' Eas stellas
Vergilias nostri appellaverunt, quod jiost ver exoriuntur '
(Hyginus, Foet Astron. xxi.).

Vl] HOMEEIC CONSTELLATIONS. 273

the phonetical coincidence of the root of Pleiades and
the word TrXelv (to navigate) led to the new explana-
tion "the shipping stars." We may be almost certain
that the name TrXet'aSe? existed long before the Greeks
thought of crossing the Mediterranean and the stormy
Pontus Euxinus ' (P. 148). All this is excellent and
may be confii-med aliter. In the Old Testament the
Pleiades, prominent as usual, are called Kimah} {Job,
ix. 9; xxviii. 31; Amos, v. 8), 'which is evidently
nothing but the Assyrian himtu, " family." The
stem is kamu, " to tie," the family being called Icimtu
because its members are connected by one common
tie ' (Delitzsch, The Heh. Lang, vieived in the light of
As. Research., 1883, pp. 69-70). Kimah has also
been connected, as Delitzsch notes, with the Ar.
/icm, ' to make a heap,' kawwam, lium, 'heap,' Heb.
khoumer. But the root-idea is the same in both
cases, the ' family ' considered as close together, in
a, ' heap.' Delitzsch renders Job, xxxviii. 31 : ' Dost
thou bind the bands of the Pleiads?' ' Canst thou join
the links of the Pleiades ?' (Hahn).

As in the case of the Bear, so in that of the Pleiades,
a peculiar and hitherto unexplained name has been
preserved by Hesychios : — SdnXka- TrXem? to darpov.

^ Messrs. Cheyne and Driver, in their excellent Holy Bible,
edited with various Renderings and Readings from the best
Authorities, 1876, lean to the opinion that Kimah = Sirius, and
Aish (properly rendered ' Arcturus ' in the A. V.) = ' Alcyone,
the brightest star among the Pleiades.' But this is not so, as
Delitzsch and Hommel have shown. The Ar. phrase Bandt
Na'sch (' Daughters-of-the-Bier ') applied to the Tail-stars of the
Bear, was originally Bandt an Is ('The Daughter-of-^w/i ').
Aish (As. isu, 'fire,' Ak. iz) is ' The Fiery,' par excellence,
Arcturus being the brightest northern star, and inferior only to
Sirius, Ganopus, and a Centauri.

18

274 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS, [VI

The word sa has various meanings in Ak. such as'
' star,' ' assembly,' etc., denoted by different cunei-
forms ; but it also means 'mound' (Sayce, SyL
No. 212), ' heap,' and -we naturally select that
meaning in the present case. The Ak. ti, til, signifies
'life,' and is reproduced in the Turko-Tataric root
tl-r, ' to live,' etc., which reappears in such forms as
the Yakute ' tilin, lebendig werden ; tilli^ das Leben '
(Vdmb^ry, Etymologisclies WorterbucJi der Turlco-
Tatarischoi Sjjracheii, 1878, p. 174). Za = ' the
emphatic prolongation,' and in Sa-tll-Ia we may
probably see an Ak. name of the Pleiades, meaning
the ']\round' or 'Heap-of-life,' the Cluster (of grapes,,
on coins, vide sup. p. 166), connected with the
vernal equinox at the period when ' Candidus auratis
aperit cum cornibus annum Taurus' (Vergd, Geor. i.
217-8). But an ordinary Ak. name for the Pleiad is
Te (' the Foundation.' Tide sup. p. 57 ; Tab.
No. 85-4-30, 15) ; and so in W. A. I. III. Ixvi.
Eev. 8a we read, ' the god, the constellation, th&
Foundation, the high enclosure.'

Aratos thus describes the Pleiads : —

' Near his left tliigli i together svreep along
The flock of Glusterers. Not a mighty space
Holds all and they themselves are dim to see.
And seven paths aloft men say they take,
Tet six alone are viewed by mortal eyes. -
These seven are called by name Alkyone,
Kelaino, Merope, and Sterope,
Teyget§, Elektre, Maia queen.
They thus together small and faint roll on,
Yet notable at morn and eve through Zeus,'

{E. D. 254.8, 261-5)

^ I.e., that of Perseus.

2 'Quae septem dioi, sex tamen esse solent' (Ovid, Fasii,-
iv. 169).

VIJ HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 275

who bade them declare the seasons {Sup. p. 156).
Souidas defines the Pleias as to e^darepov. The
Phoenician Atel- Atlas has no children, and there-
fore the mj^th of the seven Clusterers as daughters
of Atlas (' Darkness ') must be Hellenic. But
Allqione (ij Tauri)^ their chief, the ' Halcyon-King-
fisher,' has various Semitic links, as mated with
Poseidon, and connected with the bottomless pool
through which the Argives said that Dionysos
descended to bring up Semele from Hades (Paus. 11.
xxxvii. 0). The Classical authorities on the Halcyon-
myth are given with great fullness by Prof. D'Arcy
Thompson (Glossary of Gk. Birds, in voc. Alkyun ;
Bird and Beast, 184-6). His conclusion is that
the account is astronomical, and based on the
positions of the Sun and the Pleiad at the winter
solstice and the vernal equinox. Speaking of
archaic Chinese astronomy Lacouperie says, ' Mao,
the Pleiades, ... is written sun-open door . . .
The Pleiades, the stars of the Open Door, announced
the spring c. 2250 b.c. The astronomical book of
She-ki (27, 12 v.) says that between the j\Jao and
Pi/h, the Hyades (where passes the ecliptic) was a
(or the) route of heaven, Ti'en Kiai ' ( Western
Origin, 300-1). In the Euphratean sphere the
ecliptic was divided into the ' three roads ' of Anu,
Bel, and Ea (Vide K. 10,985; 11,395. For illustrations
of the world-wide and ancient importance of the
Pleiades, vide Haliburton, iVew Materials for the
Hist, of Man ; Blake, Astronomical Myths, 1877,
cap. v.).

In Homer the Dog (of Orion, vide sup. p. 256),
whether also a constellation or not, is certainly a
single star, Seirios, in whose name Aryan and Semitic

18 *

276 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

derivations coalesce. On the Aryan side he is the
' Scorcher,' as connected with (7ei,p6<;, aeiptvo'i etc. (Vide
Wharton, Etyma Gk. p. 112). On the Semitic
side he is the 'Glittering' 'the Burning-one,' 'Lamp,'
etc., as connected with the Phoenician ' Sirion,' a
name given by them to the snow-crowned ]\Iount
Hermon {Deu. iii. 9), and with the Ar. sirdj ;
Sirius and Procyon being, as Prof. Hommel has shown,
' the two Si'ray ' (' Glitterers '). So Idcler, ' Die
Araber gebrauchen Schlra vom Sirius und Procyon
zugleich, denen sie die gemeinschaftliche Benennung
Elschirajdn, die beiden Sirii, geben ' (_SferiU}ame>i,
p. 244). Seirlos is KaKov aij/jia (II. xxii. 30), from
a Clreek point of view, on account of the weather
which accompanied him (Vide sujy. p. 157) ; nor,
.again, did the Dog in Hellas hold nearly as high
a place in public regard as in Persia, or even amongst
ourselves ; ' the Greek notion ot the dog being,' as
Mr. Euskin well observes, ' throughout confused
between its serviceable fidelity, its watchfulness,
its foul voracity, shamelessness, and deadly madness '
(Queen of the Air, p. 29). But this view of the
star is not Asiatic. Thus, to quote the cosmogony
of Zarathustra, as related by Plutarch (Peri Is. xlvii.),
doubtless on the excellent authority of Hermippos : —
' Oromazes [Ahura-MazdaJ adorned the heaven with
stars, and one star before all he appointed as a guard
und overseer, Seirios,' as being the brightest of the fixed
stars. So in the Avesta Tistrya (Sirius) is 'the bright
and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling' (Ttr
Yast, i., ap. Darmesteter), and that heads the stars
against ' the Glooms and Planets [which latter are
considered to ' walk disorderly '] arranged by ' Angra-
]\Iain3'u (Ahriman, the ' Dark,' or ' Hurtful '-sjiirit.

"Vl] HOMEEIC CONSTELLATIONS. 277

ZM-sparam^ iv. 3). Nor in Euphratean belief is
there anything- inauspicious connected with the
a Cam's, although there is much difference of opinion
amongst Assyriologists as to what Avas the Euphratean
name of the star. The myth of the heavenly hunter
and his dogs is Euphratean. The solar Merodakh,
whose name ' may be merely a Semitic transformation
of the Accadian Uru-dug, "benefactor of man"'
(Sayce, Bel. And . Bahs. p. 106), is provided with
'four divine dogs,' Ukkumu ('Despoiler '), Akkulu
('Devourer'), Iksada (' Capturer '), and Iltebu
(' Carrier-away') ; and this number is not accidental,
but represents the flow of light from the Diurnal-sun
to the four quarters. Similarly, in Ai*yan myth, the
Yedic solar Yama is attended by two dogs who guard
the way to the Under- world, and are four-eyed. Hence
they become monsters in form and chthonian in
character, and reappear as Kei-beros, the Vedic
Sarvari (' Darkness-of-night '). Such, however, is not
the fate of the dogs of Marudviku, who, as a variant
phase of the solar photosphere, is really identical
with the Shepherd Dumuzi-Tammuz, the hunter
Adonai-Adonis. Tammuz, in his stellar character,
was identical with Orion in his stellar phase (Yide
Lenormant, Les Origines, i. 247, n. 1 ; Sayce, Herod,
p. 403) ; and when he becomes constellational, the
dogs pass through- a corresponding avatar and become
stellar.

In W.A. I. II. vi. 19, where the Ak. name is lost,
we have the As. equivalent Kalah Samsi (' Dog-of-
the-Sun') ; and in W. A.I. II. xlix. 63 we find the
KaBah LUc-TJdu ('Star Dog-of-the-Sun'). In
W. A I. II. xlix. 43 the ' star ' or ' constellation ' of
the Dog is said to betoken that ' forces are in the

278 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

country.' Canis JIaj. appears on a Euphratean
boundary-stone in exactly the same attitude as in our
modern star-maps ("Vide 11. B. Jr., Z. Fig. xviii.
p. 26) ; and on other boundary-stones, e.g., those
figured in W.A.I. III. xlv., the stellar Bog is a
prominent object. But, although in Homer the Bog
= Seirios, i.e., a particular star, yet considering the
above instances, and also many other archaic or
early examples of the constellational Bog or Bogs,
I strongly incline to the opinion that the Homeric
Kuon is also a constellation, one of the Telpea. The
words signifying ' star ' and ' constellation ' are used
so loosely and so interchangeably that the sense has
to be gathered more from the context and general
considerations than from the particular term
employed ; and at least in one other case that of the
Eagle, alike in Akkadian and in Greek, which repeats
the Akkadian terminology, we have the same name
(Eagle) applied both to the constellation and to its
principal star (Vide siij]. p. 45). It is, moreover,
a curious circumstance that just as the Lesser Bear
is a reduplication of the Bear, not merely in the
number of its principal stars, but also in their
position ; so is Cam's Maj. an exactly similar
reduplication of Oridii. A (Sirius) and /3 correspond
in position with a and 7 Orlonis; B, 22, and e with
the Belt-stars ; and i? and k with- k and /3 Orionis;
and it is almost certain that the seven stars of the
Bog would be combined in idea, as were the seven
stars of Orion. Prokydn, however, which is not
referred to by Homer, is only a star, not a constella-
tion, in Aratos ; and, as a constellation, has but two
stars in the Hipparcho- Ptolemy List. But the
connexion betweeen this star and a dog is of very

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 279

remote origin, for the eiglith Euphratean Lunar
Mansion was kaJckab PuUi'ka or Palura (' the Crossing-
■of-the-Water-Dog') or Frokyon (Vide R. B. Jr.,
E. S. R. Part v. p. 19), who Avas supposed to have
crossed the ' Great Stream,' as the Egyptians called
the Milbj Way (Vide Renouf, The Ey. Book of the
Dead, Part iii. p. 139), which now lies between him
and his brother Canis JIaj., and hence he appears as
IIpo-Kvcov, ' Before ' the Sirius-dog. And this con-
nexion between Prokydn and Water is the reason why
names signifying 'watery-eyed,' 'weak-eyed,' 'blear-
eyed,' were subsequently applied to the beautiful
:star, which, similarly, reappears in Greek myth as
Maira ('the Sparkler') — not weak-eyed, 'canis
ululans Mora ' (Hyginus, Fah. cxxx.), the Little-dog
which wept (= the Watery-eyed) for the death of
its master Ikarios. A circular ' object of ivory,'
figured by Schliemann (Fios, p. 601), shows a
Scorpion in the centre, a Dog (male) on one side, and
a, Dog (female) on the other; and this design is
probably connected with the myth of the Orion-slaying
Scorpion (= Darkness. Vide sup. pp. 68, 147)
;and the Orion-dogs Seirios and Maira, which latter
epithet, Hke most of the names connected with the
primitive constellations, appears in Homer ( Od. xi.
326). Nor is the Homeric ]Maira unconnected with
-the stars, for she was said to be the daughter of
Atlas, as Paus. (VIII. xlviii, 4) notes, when referring
to this passage in the Nekyla.

The remaining constellation named by Homer is
Bootes {Sup. pp. 250, 263), which some have absurdly
regarded as the star Arcturus. Lewis well observes,
'The [Homeric] epithet "tardily-setting," applied
to Bootes, alludes to the fact that his disappearance.

28o rRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vi

inasmuch as the constellation is in. a perpendiculai'
position, occupies some time ; whereas, as Aratus
.signifies, his rising is rapid, being effected in a
horizontal position' (Avtron. of the Ancients, p. 59).
And he quotes the imitative Latin poets to the same
effect. Mr. W. W. Merry says, ' Bootes, called by
Hesiod 'Ap/trou/jo? (Vide sup. p. 156), is said to " set
slow," because at that time he occupies a line of
greatest perpendicular length ; at the time of rising
he lies horizontally, and so comes into view more
quickly' (Ilomer, Odyssey, i. 282). Aratos thus
describes his setting, and the Schol. quotes the
Homeric passage in illustration : —

' The Bearward now, part seen
But more obscured, near the horizon lies.
For with four Signs^ the Ploughman, as he sinks,
The deep receives ; and he, when tired of day,
At even lingers more than half the night,
When with the sinking sun he likewise sets.
These nights from his late setting bear their name '

(B". J). 579-85).

And of his rising Aratos says :

' At once the Ploughman rises, by Bear-watcher {Arktowros)
marked' (Ibid. 609).

We must next consider what stars formed this
constellation. Hipparchos was the first Hellene to
make a fairly complete Catalogue of the Stars ;
and this fine achievement continued to excite the
admiration of posterity for ages. Even in the time
of Pliny it seems to have been spoken of with bated
breath ; for the Eoman compiler observes, ' Hippar-
chus, nunquam satis laudatus, . . . ausus, rem etiam

^ ' Che] is, Scorpio, Sagittario et Capricorno cooccidit'
(Micyllus, in loc).

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 28 1

Deo improbam, annumerare posteris stellas' {Hist.
Xat. ii. 26). But it is now clear that when he
compiled his Catalogue, he had much important
foreign literary material to work upon (Vide sup.
p. 118). Had his writings been preserved, we
might have known more about ' Nazaratos the
Assyrian,' the instructor of Pythagoras, a sage who
' held converse with the chief of the Chaldaeans '
(Clem. Alex. Strom, i. 15) ; about the Babylonian
mathematicians above mentioned (Vide sup. p. 118) ;
and doubtless concerning many others, such as
B^rosos, who passed on the archaic lore of the
Euphrates Valley to the active Greek mind. Xow
the researches of Delambre and others have shown
that the Star-list of Hipparchos is, as noticed (^Sup.
pp. 20-24), in the main, preserved in the seventh and
eighth Books of the Me(jale Syntaxls tes Astronomias
of Ptolemy, commonly called, by its Arabic title,
the Almagest, (i.e., 'The Greatest'). Here, then,
we turn in the first instance. The account of
Ptolemy is practically the account of Hipparchos,
who will be foimd to be in exact accordance with the
description of Aratos, who is merely the versifier of
Eudoxos ; and with the prose account of the latter
the brief Homeric description, so far as it goes,
perfectly agrees.

The entire evidence, therefore, points to the
conclusion that the Homeric Bodies consisted of
those bright stars which are assigned to it in the
Hipparcho-Ptolemy List (Vide sup. p. 31).

Aratos describes the constellation thus : —

' Behind the Twister (Eelike, Ursa Maj.) moves, as if he drove,
The Bearward (Arldophylax), whom mankind the Plough-
man call,

282 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

Because lie seems to touclt the wainlike Bear.

The -whole is well in sight; but, 'neath his waist,i

The star Bear-watcher brighter than the rest ' {H. D. 91-5),

Arcturus, it will be observed, is not part of the
constellation. The rather peculiar word KoWopS^o:;
{' Shepherd's Crook') = Ka\avpo-y{r.

Let us next reconstruct the constellation-figure by
the aid of the Star-list, and the process, which of
•course can be applied to any other of the primitive
■constellations of the Greeks, will serve to illustrate
how a pre-existing idea was applied to jiarticular
stars. For none of the numerous names by which
the constellation has been known, were arrived at
merely by independent observation of the stars which
it contains. They are all connected with prior and
•external ideas, to which the natural configuration of
these particular stars is made to accommodate itself.
A reconstruction of the figure of Bodies shows it
as represented (Vide Star-map).

Now I do not say that in the time of Homer all
the stars in this figure were generally considered
to form part of Bootes; nor, again, do I deny
this. But I say that the principal stars in it
undoubtedly were included in that constellation.
All agree that at least seven stars (a, ^, 7, S, e, f, k
Orionis) were included in the Homeric constella-
tion Orion; and similarly k (perhaps the K-group),
7, |S, S, e, f and tj would certainly lielp to make up
the Bootes-^gnvQ. And here, again, we should have
a group of seven stars, as in the cases of the Wain,
the Pleiad, and Orion. What a light this throws
upon the rest of the Homeric relpea. Here fully
revealed to us is one of the Homeric Signs Avith

1 Cf. Vitruvius (ix.), ' Stella media genuorum custodis Arcti.'

*A

y

»P

'r

TQ Srstpi-vou

ApKToO(jo?;

BOOTES (Od.V:272),

Vl] HOMEEIC CONSTELLATIONS. 283

which the heaven is crowned, crowned as in turn
they cuhninate. But it is evident that other con-
stellations, although they chance to be unnamed,
had also been formed and were equally well known
to the poet and to the men of his time. If these
seven stars of Bootes, lying widely apart, as they do,
had ere that period been combined in a figure whose
tardy setting Avas familiar, then it is certain that
the human mind must also have directed its
efforts in star-grouping elsewhere ; and would not
merely confine itself to Ortbn^ Pleiad^ Hijad, and
Bear^ but would turn its attention to numerous other
stars, many of which by their position, shape, etc.,
forcibly suggest formation into asterisms and con-
stellations. Believing that any one who has followed
the argument so far, even if he may hitherto have
doubted somewhat, will now agree in its conclusion,
I pass on to notice some of the names of this
constellation. And here it is to be remembered,
that although the Arabs have borrowed most of their
star-names from the Greeks, yet, as Prof. Hommel
(who has made this branch of the subject specially
his own) has shown, some Arabian names, as might
have well been expected, considering that Arabia
adjoins the Euphrates Valley, and that Arabian
kings once reigned in Babylon, were derived from
the Akkado-Babylonians at a remote period.

Bootes, considered as connected with ^oam, has
given rise to the appellations Glamans, Clamator,
Vociferator, and the Ar. Al-Auwd ('The
Shouter'). Bootes, the 'Ploughman,' reappears as
the Lat. Bubidciis and Septentrio, master of the
Septentriones ('the Seven-plough-oxen '),= the
>Fam-stars. The names Arkas (' The Bright ') and

284 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

Arktopyhylax have been referred to ; find in Greek
myth Bootes was also called Ikarios, who, in the
Attic legend, is a friend of Dionysos and sire of
Erigone (Vide sup. p. 154). Ikarios, having intro-
duced wine into the country, is killed by some
shepherds who fancy they are poisoned. Erigone,
conducted to his grave by his faithful dog Maira
(Vide sup. p. 279), hangs herself; and the three are
translated to the stars as Bootes, Parthenos, andPro-
hjon. Here, as ever, the connexion of the constellation-
legend is purely Semitic. Ikaros or Ikarios is
identical witli the Megarian hero Kar the Karian,
who is said to have built the Akropolis of Megara,
where were temples of the Semitic divinities Dionysos
and Aphrodite and a statue of Askl^pios-Eschmun
(Pans. I. xl. 4). The underlying historical facts are
(1) That the Karians were constantly employed by
the Phoenicians as mercenaries ; and (2) That the
Semitic introduction of wine and of a wine-god-cult,
accompanied by violent orgies, created no small
disturbance in various localities (Cf. //. vi. 130-40;
Euripides, Bakchai). Erigon^, like Aphrodite, Brito-
martis-Dikt}'nna, Eurynome, and Andromeda, is
connected with nets, chains, cords, etc.

Bootes., as the ' Herdsman,' reappears in the Ar.
Al-haMdr, afterwards corrupted to Al-nekkar or
Xikkar, and called Beguius in the famous Alphonsine
Tables., compiled under the direction of Alphonso X.
of Castile, surnamed 'the AVise,' cir. 1252 {Siq). p. 20).

The word Kokavpo^jr has given rise to various
corrupt forms, such as Ar. Al-kaliirops, Inkalurus
(AIj). Tab.), etc. Many other names of the constella-
tion are merely derived descriptive appellations, such
as Venator Ursae., etc., which require no special

Vl] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 285

notice. They can be found in Dupuis (Vide also
Smyth, Cycle of C el est. Objects, 1844, VoL ii.). But,
hesides these, there are certain other names of this
Sign which deserve careful consideration. Bootes is
not merely represented as a ' Bearward,' a ' Herds-
man,' and a ' Shouter ' ; he is also armed, Hastatus.,
Laiiceafor, (Ar.) Al-R&mih. And his names and
those of Arktouros are frequently used interchange-
ably ; as if the great star were a compression of
the constellation, and the constellation an expansion
of the star. Thus Souidas says, 'Ap/croOpo? Se Xer/erai,

Koi avTO'i 0X09 Boc6t7;9' tSi'tu? Se Kab o vtto ttjv ^covrjv avTov
uarrjp (In voc. Arktos) : and Bootes is also called
Ardurus Minor. Arktouros., the star, is, like Sfachys-
Spica (a Virginis), called Al-Simdk ('the Prop').
The great star is a support of heaven, and of kosmic
order generally. We may compare such concepts as
Atlas, who 'upholds the tall pillars which keep
earth and sky asunder' (Od. i. 53-4); Mithra,
■' who upholds the columns of the lofty house '
{Mihir Yast, viii.), 'the pillars of the earth' (1 Sam.
ii. 8) ; and the Eg. god Shu, uplifted of the sky.
And this is why Spica is also called Mt/cpo? Kovraparo<;
(' The Little [as opposed to Arldouros] Lance-
holder'). ArJdouros is termed (Ar.) Simdh-al-
Bdmih ('The Prop-of-the-Lance-holder ') ; and,
conversely, Bootes is (Ar.) Edris-al-Simdk ('the
Guardian-of-the-Prop '), corrupted into Haromach,
Arramech, etc. ; whilst Simdk becomes Samecli, and
Al-Simdk, Azimech, etc. Bootes, moreover, is not
merely an armed warrior, but also a 'Shepherd';
and so is called Pastor, and is, moreover, described as
(Ar.) Edris-al-Samd ('The Guardian-of-heaven '),
not merely a Bearivanl.

286 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

This lance-bearing warrior, Arldouros-Bootes, who
bears the proud title of * Guardian-of-heaven,' appro-
priately introduces another and a very curious fact,
viz., that Boutes is called Orlon^ and Or'idn, Bobtes.
Dupuis, whose theories are as worthless as his
collection of facts is valuable, says, ' Theon et
Hesychius donnent aussi le nom d' Orion au Booths-
ou ^ I'Arcture ' (Tableau Historique, pp. 109-10).
H^sychios gives Bocore?- 6 'nplav. 60 Be (i>v\a^, i.e.,
Arldophylax ; whence it appears that Orion was
called Bootes. He also describes 'npiwv as 'a constel-
lation so-called '; and at the end of his Lexikon there
is an interesting extract, ' magna horum pars sumta
est ex Basilii fragmento in Catena in lob. VII.'
This describes Onon as ' a constellation (avarrj/ia,
' organized-whole') of twenty-four stars,' Sv ■rive<f

ovofia^ovai, HoooTrjv . . . /cal tov 'Apxrovpov fiefivriTao
7] 'ypa(f)r], bv fiera^v tcov firjpaiv tov 'D,picovo<i opatfjLev Keifievov

aaripa inroKippov. This reference to Arktouros is

mainly a quotation from Ptolemy's Star-list (Suji.

p. 31). Bootes, therefore, was called Onon ; and

as there Avere many pairs amongst the Signs, e.g.,

two Bears, two Serpents, two Dogs, two Centaurs,

two constellations of Fish, so also were there two

Orions, Warriors, and Shepherds. This pair held,

so to speak, the North and the South respectively;.

and Smyth quotes from Claudian, last of the Latin

Classic poets : —

' Bootes with his wain the north unfolds ;
The southern gate Orion holds.'

T have given in detail these facts about Bootes and
his connexion with Orwn, because I think they may
tend to clear up one of the most difficult points
connected with stellar identification in the Euphra-

"^l] HOMERIC CONSTELLATIONS. 287

tean Sphere. "We know that the stars were figuratively
regarded by the Sumero-Akkadai as ' a heavenly
flock,' a simile which is even found as late as the
so-called Chaldaean Grades. Hwv Ba/3vX(ovi(ov 61

BoKifimraTOi, dye\a<^ KVpim KaXovcn, ra? aaTpiKo,'; a(f>a[paf

( Oracle, No. cxlii.). Of these ' herds ' the seven
planets were the Lubati (' Old sheep '), and the whole
of the stars had certain stellar shepherds. The Ak.
s/5, siha, = As. rihi, ' shepherd,' and Mlu, ' lord,'
just as the Homeric king is the 'shepherd' of his
people'; and no constellation is more frequently
mentioned in the Inscriptions than Slhzlanna, As.
Riubutsame (' Shepherd-of-the-life-of-heaven ' or
'Shepherd, Spirit-of-heaven'), a lord and guardian,
called also Ri^u Jcinu sa sami (' the true Shepherd-of-
heaven'). The researches of Messrs. Sayce and
Bosanquet (^Monthly Notices of the Royal Astron. Sac.
Xol. XL. Jan. 1880, pp. 119 et seq.), and their
examination of Tab. K. 8538, have made it practically
certain that Sihzlanna = Arktouros, and at times
Bootes, probably including Arktouros; and elsewhere
Prof. Sayce observes, ' The star " of the shepherd of
the heavenly herds "... is ' [by a lapsus calami
he has written ' Regiilus,' but it will be observed
that he meant ' Arctui'us '] Arcturus, ' and in his
Greek name of Bo&t^s, " the herdsman," Ave may see
a lingering echo of the Accadian story which made
its way through the hands of the Phoenicians to
Greece' (Rel. And. Bahs. p. 49). But, although this
is undoubtedly true, yet there are other passages
which speak of Sihzlanna., or rather of a Sihzianna,
as situate in the neighbourhood of Orwn and the
ecliptic (Vide inf. p. 288) ; and doubtless it is these
Tablets which Prof. Hommel has in mind when he

288 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIOXS. [VI

writes, ' Der dritte lumashi-stern ist der Sib-zl-anna
oder der "treue Hiiter des Himmel." Entweder ist
dadurch 7 der Zwillinge gemeint, da nach Epping
die " Zwillinge der Gegend des Sib-zi-anna " bei 7
gemin. standen (also wohl fj. und ?? der Zwillinge),
oder aber Beteigeuze [Befehjeuse, = Ibt-al-Jauzd
(' Armpit-of-the-Giant'), a Orionis], der rote Stern
€rster Grosse im Orion ' {Die Astronomie der alien
Chaldaer, iii. 10). Thus, the Te Tablet (No. 85-4-
30, 15) g'wes Slhz/anna and Mastahhagalgal ('the
Great Twins')^ Castor and Pollux, as the leading
stars of the month Sivan (May-June). The Sibzianna
in question would therefore seem to be in the neigh-
bourhood of the Tioins. Another Tablet, A'. 1551,
1. 12 (Vide Bezold, Gat. i. 307), reads -.—Kahhab
Sak-vi-sa (which here = Jw^j/^er) a-na libhi kalckah
.8ih-zi-an-na i-ru-uh (' The planet Sakvisa to the
midst of the constellation Shepherd-of-the-life-of-
heaven enters'). This Sibzianna cannot have been
Arctnrus, or any part of Bootes. Without further
investigating the matter at this stage of the enquiry
it will, I think, be clear that the double Hellenic
Bootes- (Jrlon is a reduplication of a double Euphratean
Sibzianna. O^-ion, as noticed {Sup. p. 92) was
identical with Dumu-zi or Duwu-zi (' The Son-of-
life'), a name contracted into (As. -Bab.) Duzu, and
which with the western Semites became Tammuz
(Cf. Ez. A'iii. 14) ; and Dumu-zi, originally a Sun-
god and husband of Istar, and thus, like Orion,
reduplicated in a constellation, is, par excellence,
' shepherd and lord' {W.A.I. IV. xxvii. No. 1, 1. 1).
Prof. Jensen's identification of Sibzianna with Regulus
is incorrect.

As the Pleiades were connected by play of words

Vl] HOMERIC COXSTELLATIOXS. 289

with ' Doves,' so were the Hyades, the Pluviae of the
Latin poets, with ' Pigs ' ; and commonly called in
Latin Suculae ('Piglings'), biit this is a mere
popular etymology. Li the Te Tablet the star-group
(Sum.-Ak.) Dvmmenna, (As.-Bab.) Temennu (' The
Foundation'), a word conventionally abbreviated to
Te in Tablets of the Greek period, and the star-
group (Sum.-Ak.) Gutanna, (As.-Bab.) Alpu-same
(' Bull-of-heaven'), representing respectively the
Pleiads and Hyads, are the protagonistic stars of the
second month Airu (lyyar). The Pleiad was thus
the ' Foundation ' (= starting point) of the original
solar year (Vide sup. p. 57).

Although Herakles does not, like Orion, obviously
appear in Homer in the two phases of Sun-god and
constellation-figure, yet the presentation of him all
but reaches this double form. In the Iliad he is the
toiling hero who captures Troia (v. 638-42), wai's
in Hellas (xi. 690-1), is persecuted by Hera (xv.
25-30), cannot escape the death-goddess (xviii. 117),
and, like Bel-Mer6dach, Perseus, and other solar
heroes, fights with a Sea-monster (xx. 145-8). Li
the Odyssey his appearance to Odysseus when the
latter visits the Under-world, is described in a
passage of great interest and importance ( Od. xi.
601-24). The hero sees the phantom of the mighty
Herakles, not the god himself, for he is with the
immortals, Avedded to Hebe [= is made deathless].
The dead fly about him like birds in fear, and he,
'like black Mght,' has bow uncased and shaft on
string, ' fiercely glancing around,' like one about to
shoot. He wears a ' dire-gleaming ' belt of gold,
whereon are wrous^ht ' bears and wild boars and
lions with flashing eyes, and battles and slaughters.'

19

290 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VI

lie recognizes Odysseus, and says what ' hard
adventures ' he had on earth ; and that his hardest
task was to lift the Dog (Kerberos) from Hades.
The phrase epe/ivfj wktI iot.KM'i means that his aspect
was terrible, not that it was dark; for his eyes
flashed, his belt gleamed, etc. Thus the expression
vvktI eoiKa><; is used of Apollon himself (11. i. 47)
Avhen enraged.

It is impossible for anj^one unacquainted with
primitive Euphratean belief and ideas to understand
thoroughly the scene described in Od. xi. The
realm of ]\Iul-lil included not only the Under-world
in all its divisions, but the Upper-world also even
to the stars was within his sway during the hours
of darkness, when ghosts leave their prison-house,
and day-avoiding dreams and phantoms combine to
terrify mankind. And this curious feature underlies
the Homeric desci'iption of the Nekyia. In a special
monograph (A'.; vide also Sent. III. xxi.) I have
gone fully into the matter in its varied details, and
to that work I would refer the reader, merelv
quoting the following passage from it : — ' Two
distinct, yet not inharmonious, elements enter into
the entire presentation, and point to its basis as
rooted in a remote antiquity ; we have before us the
Under-world and Night. The very word Erebos
(Evening-gloom) stands between them as a connecting
link. Aryan and Akkadian had an equal, a remark-
able horror of darkness ; and here as in the A'edic
and Akkadian Hymns, we see glimpses of a period
when the primeval chaos, the recurring night, and
the gloom and confusion of the infernal abyss, Avere
closely linked together in idea' (Pp. 130-1). I have
shown that Odysseus did not quit his station by the

■Vl] HOMERIC CONSTKLLATIONS. 29 1

trench; and, after noticing Mr. Gladstone's and
Dr. Hayman's account of the description, I add,
'We may take it, therefore, as agreed upon that
when standing by the trench the hero had not lost
sight of the night-sky above, and had obtained a
vision of a portion of the Under-world beneath '
(P. 123). It is under such circumstances that he
sees the reduplication of Herakles, and this form,
although not so to the poet's consciousness, is, in
truth, the constellation-figure of Herakles the Bow-
man (%j.pp. 34,187, 234), Melqarth of Thasos {Sup.
pp. 152, 194), about to let fly an arrow amongst the
startled Bird-souls ; even as his prototype Merodach
hadfought against the Demon-birds (Vide s?t/:». p. 234).
The instance of Kastor and Polydeukes, who were
identified by the Greeks with the Tioins, and parti-
cularly with the two stars a and ^ Gem., is also one
of much interest in an archaic connexion. From the
passage about them in the Iliad (iii. 243-4) it might
have been supposed that they were merely two dead
mortals, ' but them now the life-giving earth held in
Lakedaimon.' In the Odyssey (xi. 301-4) we read,
'Both these the life-giving earth holds alive; they
having even in the nether world honour from Zeus.
jSTow they are alive alternately, and now again they
are dead,' i.e., when one is alive, the other is dead,
' And honours like to gods they have received.'
Now I defy any ordinary interpreter either of Homer
•or of myths generally to explain this precise and
very singular statement. It is just one of those
sayings so hard to understand, and yet so clear and
decided in its terms, in which the real student of
inythology recognizes an archaic truth, the primary
meaning of which has long been forgotten, whilst

19 *

292 PRIMITIVE C0NSTELLATIOX8. [VI

the formula descends from age to age. The original
' Great Twins ' (Ak. Mast abbag algal, svp. p. 59) or
' Great Twin Brethren,' are the Sun and Moon, who
live alternately. As one is born, the other dies ; as
one rises, the other sets. And this pair is redupli-
cated in the zodiacal Tvins, and in the two great
twin stars of that constellation. Further, Gemini
has always been called a ' diurnal ' Sign, the reason
of which is merely that the two original Twins are
only seen together by day. On Euphratean cylinders
we find the Tirins portrayed as two human figures,
one above the other, either head to head or feet to
feet, so that one of them is standing on his head
(Vide Lajard, Culte de If/thra, PL xxvi. 1; xxvii. 5;
liv. A. 2, 6; K. B. Jr., Z. p. 7). When one is up,
the other is down; yet are they both still alive,
although constantly passing beneath the ' life-giving
earth.' It is not merely in general tone and concept,
but also in numerous reminiscences such as these,
that we notice the intense Euphrateanism, if I may
so say, of Od. xi.

The observation given to the stars by early mariners
is well illustrated by the line, ' When it was in the
third part of the night and the stars had crossed the
zenith' (Od. xii. 312). Here the stars which cross
the zenith, called in Akkadian ' the divine place '
(rt«r«, As. -Bab. nalbar-same), are the constellations
that culminate in turn, and are carefully observed by
the sailor. We are now in a position to sum up the
results of an examination of the references in Homer
to stars and constellations. We find that he was
familiar with the legendary histories of all the per-
sonages who had been translated to the skie?. Thus,
as he calls Perseus ' the most famous of men,' it is

VI ] HOMERIC COXSTELLATIOKS. 293

clear that those associated with him in myth must
iilso have been ahiiost universally known throughout
Hellas. "We find in the Poems all the objects which
Avere used as constellation-figures, with the exception
of three creatures known to everyone ; and thus Iliad
and Odyssey are in exact accordance- with the coins.
Both coins and poems alike present us with the
forms used for the Signs of heaven. But, beyond
this, we see in Homer at least four constellations
distinctly specified; and of these, two, Bootes and
the Wain, obviously consisted then of the same
principal stars as they do now. And, further, Avhen
we come to understand what this necessarily impUes,
to examine the history and character of these constel-
lations, and to observe the prominent mistakes of
antiquity and of modern times made with respect to
them, we are irresistibly compelled to a conclusion
exactly similar to that arrived at by an examination
of Greek literature from Eudoxos to Hesiod, and
from a consideration of the earlier coin-types, namely,
that the Homeric age, like the later times treated
of in preceding chapters, was familiar with all or
nearly all of the primitive constellations of the Greeks.
Lastly, Avhen the question is asked, Whence originally
came the concepts of the Wain, Bodies, Orion, and
his Dog, not to mention numerous other points and
features, the answer must be, — From the primitive
civilization of the Euphrates Valley.

CHAPTER VII.

Constellation-subjects appearing in the early unnumiS'
matic Art of the Aigaion seaboard and of Asia Minor.

As constellation-subjects appear largely amongst
the earlier coin-types, so also are they to be met
•with, to a considerable extent, in the primitive
Art of the Aigaion seaboard and of Asia Minor..
To avoid any possible misapprehension, I refer the
reader to what I have said respecting the constella-
tions when considered in connexion with the coin-
types ('^''7^. p. 161). I do not assert, in the abstract,,
that a lion at Myk^nai has any necessary connexion
with ieo, or a bull at Tiryns with Taurus. I merely
call attention, in a general way, to the fact that
various constellation-subjects, whether in their con-
stellational or pre-constellational character, or, agam,.
accidentally, were familiar to the Art of the time and
j)lace of which I speak. That the artists of a country
where lions existed should delineate lions, is almost
a matter of course ; but the evidence of the records of
human thought convinces us that it was almost equally
certain that the lion should be regarded, first in idea
and subsequently in concrete Art, in a symbolical
manner. And this observation, as of course, applies
to other creatures. Mr. A. Lang once wrote in
The Academi/, that various scholars ' are all united
against the dull person who thinks that, when mytho-
poeic man spoke of a Hare, he probably meant a Hare
£aiis phrase J I replied in the same Journal, ' In this-

VIl] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 295

case, how was man mythopoeic ? The animal, too, must
have strangely changed its habits from the days when
it was wont to dance when the Lion died, spit on the
Bear's cubs, laugh at the dying Eagle, guard the
cave of the wild beasts, and defend the Lambs
(Stars) from the Wolf (Darkness).' To this rejoinder
Mr. Lang made no reply ; and here we touch one of
the principles involved in an examination like the
present, viz., that if we find in ancient art or story,
e.g., animals, represented under circumstances, or as
acting in Avays, entirely contrary to their actual
natural habits, we may feel a reasonable certainty
that symbolism is at work. Thus, in the mythic
stories above mentioned, it is remarkable that even
the dullest person can regard them as spoken of the
' Hare sans phrase.^ They are all simple enough
when referred to the Hare-moon, natural enemy of
the Lion-sun (Yide step. p. 97). As with the coin-
tj'pes, it is simply a matter of evidence in each case,
whether this or that constellation-subject is por-
trayed with reference to natural phenomena, stellar
or otherwise.

At Troia the following constellation-subjects were
found by Schliemann : — The Altar, Flaming-altar,
Tripod ; heads of the Bull, Ox, and Horse ; the Cup
or Bowl (of the kantharos-type) ; the Cow, Ox,
Dog, Horse, Ibex-goat, Lion, Hare, Eagle, Swan,
Serpent, Fish, and Scorpion ; also the female figure
of the Istar-Virgo type. One instance of the Hare
has been already noticed (Suj?. p. 97). On two of
the Whorls (Troy, PI. xxvii. No. 367 ; xxviii.
No. 377) four Hares (= the four quarters of the
Moon) are depicted around the central hole. On one
of ' the terra -cotta balls ' ai-e ' twelve stars, one of

296 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vH

which has a dot in the centre [A Euphratean type. J.
The twelve little stars may possibly denote the twelve
signs of the zodiac' {Ihld. p. 168). Prof. Sayce
remarks : — ' We learn from the Trojan cylinders that
objects of early Babylonian origin were known to
the primitive inhabitants of Hissarlik, and several
of the designs on the Whorls are obviously imitations
of designs on Babylonian cylinders, among which
small round holes denoting the stars and planets are
especially plentiful ' (IHos, p. 703). The sun with
curved ra}s appears on the Whorls as in the Kretan
Pictographs. A vase-cover of terra-cotta shows
a creature which ' Professor Virchow thinks the
primitive Trojan artist intended to represent
a tortoise ' {Ibid. p. 413), a variant of the Crab
(Vide suj}. p. 207). 'Both land and water tortoises
are very abundant' in the Troad {Ibid. p. 114).
The above list does not pretend to be exhaustive,
and very likely various other constellation- subjects
were found at Troia; but nearly all the more prominent
animal-Signs and the greater pai't of the zodiacal
Signs are represented in it. As the reader of llios
will observe, there was a very distinct connexion
between Troia and Babylonia.

At Tiryns the following constellation-subjects
(perhaps amongst others) were found by Schliemann : —
Bird, Bowl, Bull, Charioteer, Dog, Horse, Ram's-
liead and Swan ; and also in combination Horse and
Fish, and Female holding Ear-of-corn. In the former
case the Fish, in two variant instances, is placed
under the belly of the Horse between the fore and
hind legs (Vide Schliemann, Tiryns, PI. xviii.).
The design, thus not representing a natural fact, is
probably typical, and reminds us of the celestial

VIl] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 297

combination of Peyasos and the Northern Fish
(Vide sup. p. 241). The female figure liokling the
Ear-of-corn (Schliemann, Tiryns, PL xvii.) is exactly
like the Virgo and Spica, as appearing on Euphratean
cylinders and otherwise in the Art of Western A.sia
(Vide R. B. Jr., T^ Figs. vi. vii. ix. x.). In a letter
to 77(6 Academy, dated November 23, 1895,
I showed in detail that the gigantic Bull of the
Tirynthian wall-painting {Tiryns, PI. xiii.), hke
the zodiacal Taurus, represented the Bos primi-
(jenlus, Heb. Rem, As. Eimu, portrayed con-
ventionally as showing only one horn (= the
Unicorn). Speaking of the tail of the Bull I said,
'Here, again, as constantly in archaic art, the treat-
ment is conventional, types, scenes, and delineation
being often repeated from generation to generation.
The tail of a bull at speed is almost invariably
stretched straight out, and of course is not divided
towards the end into two equal parts. But this
peculiar curl over the back [which appears in the
instance of the Tirynthian Bull,] is familiar to the
symbolical art of Western Asia. Thus we find :
Winged Unicorn-bull at speed in a position similar
to that of the Tirynthian Bull, with tail curled in
exactly the same manner (Lajard, Culte de Jlithra,
PI. xliv. No. 18). Same type : Bull with curled
tail, and one horn and one ear shown (Ibid. No. 21).
Bull, showing horn and ear as before, with tail
curled over back, and artificially divided towards
the end into two equal parts (Ibid. PI. Ixviii.
No. 2), as in the case of the Tirynthian Bull.'
In this latter instance the Crescent-moon appears
over the back of the Bull, as the key to the
symbolism.

298 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vH

At ]\Iykeuai the following constellation-sub'
jeets (perhaps amongst others) were found by
Schliemann : —

Bowl (of the lantharos-tjTpe), Charioteer, Cow,
Cow-heads; Doves, with female ; gold shrine of
Aphrodite, Avith Doves ; Eagle, Ear-of-corn,
Herakles and Lion, Horse, Sea-horse, Lion, Serpent,
drakontic Serpent, and Swan. The Gryphon also-
appears.

M. Svoronos (Siir la Signijication des Types Jlone-
taires des Ana'ens, PI. xvi.) gives a line kneeling
figure of Harekhal-i7t?r«/i7<?s of Thasos, which exactly
corresponds with the coin-types (A^ide svj). p. 291).
I have noticed the Centaur on the Coffer of Kypselos
(^Sup. p. 213) ; and it is needless to refer to the
Centaurs in later Art.

Amongst the highly interesting and important
Kretan Pictographs (Vide Arthur J. Evans, Cretan
Pictographs and Pre- Phoenician Script, 1895) are
found the following constellation-subjects : —

Altar, Arrow, Bowl, Bull or Ox, Bull-head,
Bucranium, Dog, Dove, Eagle volant^ Fish (Tunny,,
vide Slip. p. 87), Goat, Goat-head, Herakles in Lion-
skin, Lyre, Ram's-head, Scorpion, Sea-horse, Ship,
and Tortoise. Another type is the Tree, which
seems closely akin to the Ear-of-corn type. One
Stone (P. 69) bears what appears to be a Sea-monster,
a type we should expect to find in Krete (Vide sup.
p. 188). Another bears three Fishes, which recall
the zodiacal Pair and the Great Fish. It is quite
possible that other constellation-subjects appear
amongst the objects portrayed, many of which are
at present imrecognizable. It is premature at present
to enter into any detailed consideration of this-

VIl] CONSTELLATIOX-SUBJECTS. 299

Eteokretan Art, which is connected alike with that
of Myk^nai, Asia Minor and Syria, and Egypt. Kor
can we yet venture to dogmatise or even to advance
mucli upon the symbology. It is easy to speak of
' animal worship in the Mycenaean age ' ; but when
we meet ' with a figure having the limbs and body
of a man but apparently either lion-headed (?) oi'
coifed in a lions scalp ' (P. 69), we may safely accept
this as a H^rakMs, instead of troubling ourselves
anent lion-headed ' Mycenaean daemons,' and sup-
posing that ' we may trace perhaps a reference to an
originally totemic lion of a tribe or family ' (P. 70.)
"VYe must also, I think, look with distrust upon that
method of interpretation which makes ' a personal
application ' of ' symbolic characters ' ; e.g.^ 'Fig- 24,
with the pig and door, would have belonged to some
one who owned herds of swine ' (P. 33.) The design
shows an animal which I take to be a Wild-boar ;,
it has a crested -back, like the Wild-boar of the
Lykian coins, and is standing before some doubtful
object, which is certainly ]iot a door. ' The Fish at
the head of Fig. 33,' continues Mr. Evans, 'may
indicate a fisherman.' Certainly it may, just as the
single human leg of Fig. 25 may (or may not)
indicate that the owner was a one-legged man,
I am not at present contending in favour of an
occult symbolism ; but, at the same time, these
desifjns, like numbers of others in different branches
of archaic Art, will probably be found to contain
this ingredient. Fig. 64, a three-sided stone, shows
on its respective sides an Ostrich, a Ram's head and
a Scorpion. If we hold that the artist engraved
these designs merely from a whim and Avithout any
special reason or meaning, we simply repeat the facts.

300 PKIMITIVE COXSTELLATIOXS. [vil

of the case whilst pretending to explain them. Xor,
again, can we suppose the owner possessed herds,
flocks or swarms of these three kinds of creatures.
If ^.ve are inclined to think that, having seen an
ostrich for the first time, he was so struck with it
that he engraved its portrait on his stone, this Avill
not accord with the other two representations.
Mr. Evans notes that the Scorpion was ' a favourite
symbol on early Asiaiiic and Syrian seal-stones '
(P. 72) ; and here, it will probably be agreed that
we detect Euphratean influence. If the Scorpion
were symbolical, so, we may argue, were the other
two designs ; and the whole combination might well
mean, on Euphratean lines, the Forces-of-nature
(Mde the familiar Cylinder-group of a divinity
holding two Ostriches by their necks) working in
harmonious order through Day (= the solar Earn)
and Kight (^Darkness, the Scorpion). That such
is the meaning I do not assert ; nor, again, if such
were the original signification, need it have been
known to a Kretan copyist. Prof. Sa3'ce, in a review
of Mr. Evans' book {Academi/, Aug. 29, 1896),
reminds ns that, as Sargon of Akkad, B.C. 3800,
e.Ktended his empire ' even into Cyprus,' there was
plenty of opportunity for the exercise of Euphratean
influence in the direction of Kr^t^ in archaic times,
and that e.g., the Ox-head of the Kypriote cylinders
is exactly reproduced among the Kretan pictographs.
]Mr. Evans well notes that ' certain signs,' which he
mentions, ' clearly point to a fundamental relation-
ship between the Hittite and Cretan systems. The
double axe moreover is characteristically Asianic '
(P. 47). This is the special weapon of Dionysos
Pelekys (Vide siqi. pp. 182, 199), and appears alike in

Vn] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 3OI

Hittite inscriptions, Kypriote cylinders, Mykenaian
rings and Kretan gems. The Asianic Zeus Labrandeus
or Labraundos is merely the god armed with the
Lydian Xa/Spu? ( = 7re'Xe«:u9. Tide Plout. llellen.
p. 302 A.).

"Without, therefore, here entering further into
detail, argument and speculation, suffice it for the
present to notice that the archaic art of the Troad,
of Argolis, and of Kr^te was essentially compound
in character. It was largely but indirectly influenced
by the art and religion of the Euphrates Valley and
by the art of Egypt. It was powerfully and directly
influenced by various nations of Asia IMinor, including
the Hittites, and by Phoenicia, including Plielesheth
(Philistia). That the art of Myk^nai or of Kr^te
was either altogether European or altogether Asiatic
is improbable in the highest degree. Alike at Troia,
Myk^nai, Tiryns, and in Kr^t^ constell.ation-subjects
appear in considerable numbers. Some of them are
almost necessarily introduced in scenes depicting
actual life, but not so others; and the general result,
as in the case of the coins, is the strong presumption
that these figures, or most of them, were familiar,
and were employed in a sacred or semi-sacred
connexion.

Constellation-subjects on Gems. Constellation-
subjects on gems are very plentiful, but of compara-
tively small interest in this connexion, inasmuch as
most of them are late work, wdth wdiich we are not
here concerned. M. M. Imhoof-Blumer and Otto
Keller {Tier- unci Pflanzenhilder) have given an
admirable collection, including many designs of great
interest; but it is generally quite impossible to
determine the date in any particular case, in which

302 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vil

respect gems contrast most unfavourably with coins.
It is true that late work at times reproduces an
archaic design, in which case it is of course deserving
of careful stud}-. The Altar, Bear, Bowl, Bull,
Centaur with thyrsos (as described by Ptolemy, vide
stqh p. 109), Chai'ioteer, Crab, Crow, Dog, Dolphin,
Dove, Eagle, Eagle-head, Ear-of-corn, Fish, Goat,
■Crrape-cluster, H^rakl^s with Lion, with Hydra, with
Stymphalian Birds; Horse, Demi-horse, Sea-horse,
Lyre, Ram, Ram's-head, Scorpion, Serpent, Swan,
and Tripod, all appear on various gems, the great
majority of which require no special notice.

One gem in the above-named work (Taf. xv. 18)
shows the following singular combination of sj'mbols :
Two large Scorpions upright, between their tails
a Bear's head, 1. of the one an eight-rayed Star and
Crescent-moon, r. of the other a Bird, thought to be
a Dove, the whole encircled by a Serpent, tail in
mouth. Whatever may have been the signification
attached by the engraver to this design, it certainly
presents a number of archaic ideas. The twin
Scorpions of Darkness, eastern and western (Vide
sup. pp. 67, 217); the Ocean-serpent (Vide sn-p.
p. 104) and Time-serpent; the Bear's head (^ Ursa
MajJ) and the Dove (=the Pleiad?), all carry us
back into very early times ; and if, as is possible, the
eight-rayed Star represents, not Sol, but Venus, we
should have here a picture of the nocturnal heaven.
I may. add that Kamp^ (' the Winding-one '), the
Time-serpent, is slain by the solar Dionysos (Vide
suj;). p. 216), the Time-king; that is, the Sun in
his career across heaven, reaches the turning-points
in the east and Avest, and destroys the circles and
cycles of Time which he himself marks out and

yn] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 3O3

brings into existence (Vide R. B. Jr., G. D. J A ii.
72-4). Another gem, representing Ursa Maj.^ Ursa
Min.^ and Draco has ah-eady been noticed {Sup.
p. 265). On the question of the significance of the
designs on vai-ious Cxreek gems and coins, the student
:should consult the works of Prof. D'Arcy Tlrompson
{Vide sup. pp. 7, 141, 271).

The Episemon^ or device on the Greek Shiehi,
frequently consists of one of the figures also
•employed as a constellation. Thus, we find on
shields the Bird, Bowl {kantharos), Bow, Bull,
Bull's-head, Chariot, Centaur, Crab, Dog, Dolphin,
Eagle, Fish, Goat, Gorgoneion (Cf. //. xi. 36),
Harmodios, and Aristogeiton ( = Twins), Horse,
Horse (demi), Lion, Lion (demi), Pegasos, Eam's-
head, Scorpion, Serpent, Ship (demi). Star, Swan,
and Tripod, etc. ; and all the constellations appeared
on the Shield of Achilleus. The ' Shield of
Herakles ' bore a mighty Serpent (BraJcon) girt with
the heads of twelve terrible Snakes (o^lcov). The
close connexion between the Phoenicians and the
Karians has been mentioned (Suj}. p. 284) ; and
the latter, who were constantly employed by the
former as mercenaries, ' were the first ... to put
devices on shields (H^rod. i. 171). Prof. Sayce
observes, ' The Kai'ians, as we now know, were once
subject to Hittite influence. I am tempted to see
in the emblems or symbols on the shields a remin-
iscence of the Hittite hieroglyphics ' (Trans. Soc.
Bib. Archaeol. vii. 303-4).

The designs upon Greek Vases supply, in like
manner, very numerous instances of the constellation-
subjects, including all those which appear on
shields ; and also the Altar, Andromeda, Archer,

304 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vil

Argo, Arrow, Ear-of-corn, Grape-cluster, Hare,
Herakles with his various opponents, Kepheus,
{Cat. Vases Brit. JL/s. vol. i. 244: ' Kepheus is
seated on a rock' — /lv'^j>/(, vide sujj. p. 232), Lyre, Orion,
Perseus, Quadriga, Earn, Sea-horse, Sea-monster
(=Skylle), Twins (Dioskouroi), Urn, Virgin
(Aphrodite), A¥ater-pourer (Granymedes), and Wolf.
Kallisto to some extent represents the Great Bear;
but the Lesser Bear, the Bearirard, Kassi'epeia, the
Siiale-holder, Stream and Crab, so far as I am aware,
do not appear on the Vases. The number of excep-
tions is singularly small. The Zodiac occurs in very
late pottery.

There are a few designs on early Vases which
are probably connected Avith Phoenician divinities
in a stellar phase. Thus, on a Vase (Figured in
Roscher's Lex. p. 1671) is shown Zeus, in the act
of kneeling on one knee ( = Engonasin) and holding
a thunderbolt in his right hand, attacking a huge
winged monster, half man and half a double- snake,
who is apparently crying out in alarm, is unarmed,
and is not making any effort to defend himself.
This certainly is not in origin any scene in the
Gigantomachm; to begin with, there is no battle at all.
To the Greek the Serpent is a symbol of the earth,
and hence is at times connected with special Earth-
children such as the Giants, Erichthonios, etc. But
these creatures are not winged, and in origin we
probably have here a phase of Baal Tsephon (' Lord
of the North '), god of the storm-wind, and identical
or connected with the XahMsch qadmun ('Old
Serpent') of the Phoenician kosmogony (Vide
sup. p. 29). Baal Tsephun is also connected with
Typhon (Tu^aoji^, Ti^^euev?), Eg. Tebha, a creature of

"^Il] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 305

monstrous form, who in Hellenic and Western Asian
idea is associated with hurricane and volcanic
disturbances. And it is noticeable that this Ph. North-
wind-god has, in spite of Greek feeling, impressed
his unanthropomorphic character upon the Thrakian
Boreas, who, on the Chest of Kypselos, was similarly
represented with serpents' tails instead of feet (Paus.
V- xix. 1). Boreas in art is generally merely
a winged-man, but in one instance he appears on
a Vase (Figured in Rosclier's Lex. p. 810) as
Janiform, a circumstance which still further illus-
trates how his concept has been touched by the
influence of un-Hellenic art. In Phoenician
kosmogony-theories and religious belief the Serpent
and the Wind played very prominent parts. It was
from the Wind, Kolpia ( ::= Qol-ptci'h, ' the Voice-of-
the-Wind ') and his consort Baau (' Emptiness '), the
Babylonian goddess Bahii, that, according to one
view, all powers and personages sprang ; and this
line of idea is the basis of the Homeric myth of
Boreas and the mares of Erichthonios (//. xx. 221-9;
vide Paley, The Iliad of Homer, ii. 127, for similar
illustrative instances). Baal Tsephon is constella-
tionally connected with KepJieus and Bralcbn (Vide
sup. p. 30; K. B. Jr., 0. N. C. pp. 14-16).

In the art of Kypros, that meeting place of races
and cults, constellation-subjects abound. We find
the Altar, Archer, Archer kneeling (Cf. Herakl^s
Engonasin), Bear, Bear-headed figure, Bird, Bowl,
Bucranium, Bull, BuU's-head, Centaur (Vide Cesnola,
Salaminia, p. 2-13 ; Perrot and Chipiez, Hist, of Art in
Phoenicia and. its Dependencies.! 1885, vol. ii. p. 200),
Charioteer, Dog, Dolphin, Dolphin's-head, Dove,
Eagle, Ear-of-Corn, Fish, Goat, Goat's-head, Grape-

20

306 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. {jll

cluster, H^raklSs with lion-skin, club and quiver ;
Horse, Lion, Lion's-head, Lyre, Pegasos (Vide
Cesnola, Sal. p. 297; Perrot, ut stip. p. 303), Kara,
Sea-horse, Serpent, Ship, Swan, Tripod, and Virgin
(Aphrodite).

"We also meet Avith an elegant Aquaria, styled
6EA H OMBRIOSj kneeling on one knee, and holding
her I'rn downwards (Vide Cesnola, Sal. p. 199).
A Charioteer (Vide Ihid. p. 240) is driving a Te6pi7nrov
('four-horse-chariot') of precisely the type which,
made in terra-cotta, is often found in Phoenician
cemeteries (Vide Perrot, i. 210). This latter is in
turn a reproduction of the car of the Heniochos-
Auriga of Euphratean Cylinders (Vide Lajard, Culte
de M/'thra, PL xli. No. 3; CuUimore, Oriental
Cylinders, Parti. Fig. 6; R.B. Jr., 0. N. C. pp. 10-11).
What is apparently a Sea-monster is shown on
a fragment of a lamp; and the lunar Bull is admirably
wrought on the handle of a bronze vessel which
bears three Bull's heads, the horns, in each case,
curling round in an unnatural manner into a crescent.
A gem (Cesnola, *SV//. PI. xv. No. 59) bears a figure,
apparently that of a female, about to sit down on
a chair the back of which slopes outwards. The
combination is remarkably suggestive of the stellar
Kassiepeia. The Kypriot Cylinders, whose designs
are, as of course, variant reproductions of Euphratean
originals, show, amongst other features, ' the Paphian
goddess ' (= 'Aschthflrth-Istar) and her doves ; the
Gryphon (Vide siij). pp. 172, 179) ; and, very
frequently, ' the head of an ox, a well known Hittite
character' (Sayce, in Cesnola, Sal. -p. 122), found
equally on Kypriot coins and on Mykenaian
rings. One ' cylinder is manifestly a rude imitation of"

VIl] CONSTELLATIOX-SUBJECXy. 3O7

a Babylonian gem, representing the battle between
Merodach and the demon-birds ' {Ibid. p. 120). Pellets
or stars, suns, crescent moons, and various animals in
unnatural positions (e.*/., adoring) and combinations,
appear on the Kypriot, as on the Euphratean,
cylinders. Amongst constellation-subjects the Goat,
Lion, Ram, Serpent, and BuU's-head are prominent.
The Hittite script shows the following, and
possibly some other, constellation-subjects : — The
Altar, Bowl, Bird, Bull's-head combined with lunar
crescent, Bull's-head, Dove, Eagle, Fish (? //. iv.,
1. 1), Goat's -head, Hare, Ram's -head, Serpent,
Tortoise (Tide Wright, Emp. of the Hittites, PL vii.,
1. 1), and isosceles Triangle {== Deltoton). This
latter, according to Prof. Sayce, is the ideograph of
' king.' The Lion appears in Hittite art, or, as at
Marash, inscribed with Hittite characters. The
famous monument at Ivriz (the best representation
of which is in Ramsay and Hogarth, Pre-Hellenic
Monuments of Cappadocia^ 1891, PI. iii.), shows
a divinity (Baal Tarz) who is either actually, or,
at all events, practically, a Dionysos ; and whose
horned cap and carefully curled hair and beard are
entirely in the Euphratean style. His right hand
holds a vine branch with four large Grape-clusters,
and his left perhaps an Ear-of-corn (Vide Sayce,
The Hittites., p. 111). Before him stands a compara-
tively diminutive Votary, clad in a Euphratean robe
and holding up his hands in adoration, like the
Gryphon on some Kypriot cylinders. A scene at
Fraktin, ' a village lying due south of the central
peak of Argaeus,' shows the Great Goddess seated
on a chair of the Kassiepeia-type, i.e., with a sloping
back, with an infant apparently on her knee, before

20 *

308 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vil

an Altar upon which are certain objects, and above
the topmost of them, which the goddess holds with
her left hand, is a Dove (Ramsay, p. 19). The
Bull and Goat appear amongst the sculptures at
Eyuk. Another famous Hittite symbol is the
twy-headed Eagle, which is sculptured on the rocks
at Boghaz Keui (Pteria, '■ pteris being the Greek
name of the pteris aquilina or fern with leaves like
a double eagle.' Sayce.), and which was adopted
by the Seljukian Turks, and subsequently in 1345
by the Emperor of Germany. The well-known
Hittite terra-cotta seals (Figured in Wright, Emj). of
the Eittites^ PL xvi., and elsewhere) show (1) a Dog,
upon whose back stands a human figure ; (2) a Dog,
above which are two stars and two other symbols ;
and (3) a Pegasos, galloping, with wings out-spread,
one above and the other below him ; in the field,
a BuU's-head, a Crescent, and three pellets {= stars).
As a matter of course, the Hittites, like their neigh-
bours from whom they boi'rowed so much, would
pay considerable attention to the host of heaven. In
1886 Prof. Sayce wrote me : — ' In the Hittite texts
the bull's head interchanges with syllables e-me-er.
So that " the Country of the Bull's head " is " the
Country of the Amorites." This bears out the
statements of the Egyptian monuments, according
to which " the land of the Amorites " extended
northwards to Carchemish, as well as of the cuneiform
inscriptions with their Gar-emeris.' The Hittite
sun-god Sanda or Sandu (Gk. Sandon) stood at the
head of the Kilikian pantheon. He is a variant
])base of the fighting sun-god of Western Asia, the
Harekhal - Herakles of Phoenicia (Vide Movers,
Phunizier^ i. 458-61). Sandakos (' the-Son-of- Sanda.'

"VIl] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 3O9

Sayce.) is said by Apollodoros (III. xiv. 3) to have
gone from Syria to Kilikia ' where he founded the
city Kelenderis.' With the interesting question of
the interpretation of the Hittite Inscriptions, and
the efforts of Prof. Sayce, Jensen, Tylor, Condor
and others in this direction, I am not here concerned.
The Hittite language will probably prove to be
akin to that of Van, and the nearest modern
representative of such a form of speech would be
the Georgian.

AVith respect to Hittite influence in the direction
of the Aigaion, Prof. Sayce sums up the matter
by saying, ' It was Babylonian culture which the
Hittites carried with them to the nations of the
west. . . The remains found by Schliemann at
Hissarlik . . point unmistakably to Babylonian
and Hittite influence' (^Trans. Soc. Bib. Archaeol.
vii. 272-3). The 'mural crown' was a Hittite
invention, and the Great Goddess of Asia Minor
Kybele, KybebS, Ma, Omphale, the Ephesian
Artemis, was Hittite in character and ritual. But,
not in origin, for Gargamis (Karkhemish) was the
halfway house between Babylonia and the West ;
and its goddess, afterwards the well-known Syrian
divinity of Bambyke-Hier&polis, ' was the Nana or
Istar of Babylonia.' ' There was a time when the
Hittites were profoundly affected by Babylonian
civilization, religion and art' (Sayce, The Hittites,
p. 116). From the Hittite inscriptions Prof Sayce
acutely conjectures that the Greeks obtained the
' boustrophedon mode of writing,' which was not
practised by Assyrians, Phoenicians or Egyptians ;
and he observes that ' When Ephesos passed into
Greek hands ... the priestess of Artemis still

3IO PRIMITIVE CONSTKLLATIONS. [vil

continued to be called " a bee," reminding us that
Deborah or "Bee" was the name of one of the
greatest of the prophetesses of ancient Israel '
{Ibid. p. 79). ' At Hierapolis and Aleppo [Tammuz]
Avas known as Hadad [Adad, Macrob. Sat. i. 23;
Vide sup. p. 225. j or Dadi, while throughout Asia
Minor he was adored under the name of Attys " the
shepherd of the bright stars " ' {Ihd. p. 109). On the
sculptures at Boghaz Keui is ' a youthful god, with
the double-headed battle-axe in his hand' {Ibid. p. 90 ;
vide sup. p. 300). The ' maneh of Carchemish '
was long a standard of value in East and West,
and in origin it Avas merely the Babylonian maneh,
Gk. fiva. The Hittites excelled in the working of
engraved gems, and in this respect, as well as in
others, the art of Mykenai shows the most distinct
traces of Hittite influence (Vide Sayce, The Hifiites.,
p. 119). ' There was a time when the Hittite name
was feared as far as the western extremity of Asia
Minor, and when Hittite satraps had their seat in
the future capital of Lydia' (Ibid. p. 78). ' Greek
tradition affirmed that the rulers of Mykenae had
come from Lydia, bringing Avith them the civilization
and the treasures of Asia ]\Iinor. The tradition has
been confirmed by modern research. While certain
elements belonging to the prehistoric culture of
Greece, as revealed at ^Mykenae and elsewhere, AA^ere
derived from Egypt and Phoenicia, there are others
which point to Asia Minor as their source. And
the culture of Asia Minor was Hittite ' (Ibid. p. 120).
' The Hittites carried the time-Avorn civilizations of
Babylonia and Egypt to the furthest boundary of
Asia, and there handed them over to the West in
the grey dawn of European history' (Ibid. p. 121).

VIlJ CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 31I

These general conclusions respecting the position
of the Hittites I think well to place before the reader
in the words of Prof. Sayce, who thus sums up the
result of his own researches, and of those of various
modern scholars. The religion, ritual, art, and com-
merce of Babylonia penetrated by degrees amongst
the mixed populations of Northern Syria and Asia
Minor, whether Semite, Turanian or Aryan. They
dominated Kypros, they impressed themselves in
a lesser degree upon Krete and Mykenai. But they
are everywhere present, and an important factor in
the situation. Each nationality impresses upon them
its own phase and wears them with a difference ; and
it is as yet impossible to lay down the exact propor-
tions in v/hich Egyptian, Phoenician and Hittite
influences blend with a certain amount of native
substratum in making up a complex civilization like
that of Mykenai. But the general principles are
clear, and the historical and archaeological discoveries
of the future will probably reveal almost all the
important facts of the case. ' The Hittites were
a literary people. The Egyptian records make
mention of a certain Khilip-sira, whose name is
compounded with that of Khilip or Aleppo, and
describe him as "a writer of books of the vile
Kheta." Like the Pharaoh, the Hittite monarch
was accompanied to battle by his scribes' (Sayce,
The Hittites, p. 125). ' We must not forget that in
the days of Deborah, "out of Zebulon," northward of
Megiddo, came " they that handle the pen of the
writer'" (Ibid. p. 12G ; Judg. v. 14). That this
literature, like that of the Euphratean nations and of
the Phoenicians, treated, amongst other things of
astronomy and astrology cannot reasonably be

312 PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vil

doubted. The reference to ' the bright stars ' and
Attys their solar Shepherd, who probably reappeared
in a stellar reduplication, like the Ak. Sibzianna
(Vide sMjj. p. 287) ; to the l\''gasos, the Dog and stars,
and other constellation-subjects which appear in
Hittite art, all show that such was the case ; and,
as regards the Greeks, it is, as noticed, chiefly
amongst those of Asia jMinor and the islands
adjacent that astronomical knowledge at first
is found. This reached them alike by sea and
land, from Phoenician and from Hittite ; and the
general unity in origin and to a great extent in
character of this celestial lore is illustrated by the
fact that, as shown in the present chapter, alike in
the art of Troia, Tiryns, ]\Iykenai, Krete, Kypros, of
Greek gems, shields, and vases, and of the Hittites,
^ve find the primitive constellation-subjects with
a persistency and in numbers far greater than
a normal pro23ortion would allow if independent
of special sacred and familiar associations. This
but confirms the emphatic testimony given by the
coins of different nations in the same localities.
And here I will quote some excellent remarks of
Prof. D'Arcy Thompson on an erroneous theory
respecting various types and symbols. He says : —

' Prof. Ridgeway's now widely accepted views on
the patterns of ancient coinage would give a meaning
to coin-types where numismatists had none to off'er
before, but it is a meaning foreign to all we know of
ancient symbolism. His theory is that not merely
the ox, but the tortoise, the fish, the silphium plant,
the ear of corn, and so forth, represent articles of
general or local commerce whose barter the coins
replaced . . . Mr. Eidge way's theory is of a piece

VIl] CONSTELLATION-SUBJECTS. 313

with the speculations of those who, running folk-lore
to the death, seek to read antiquity in the light of
savagery ; who see the childhood of the world in
an age of astronomic science, symholic art, and
mystical religion, and who arrive at what I unhesi-
tatingly regard as misconception by the double
blunder of unduly depreciating the complexity of
archaic Greek thought, and unduly exalting the
importance and too freely correlating the results of
their own study of incipient or semi-barbarous
civilizations ' {Bird and Beast in And. Symbolism,
pp. 182-3).

This is admirably put. Let anyone who inclines
to the barter theory of coin- types go through the
long list which I have given, and he will, by the aid
of such a principle, obtain novel and highly humorous
views of eai-ly commerce. A considerable trade, it
would seem, must have been carried on at one time,
e.g., in gryphons and man-headed bulls ; and if we
find on one coin a Fish and on another a Serpent,
may we suppose that these creatures formed the
subject of general barter ? According to Prof.
Ridgeway, the Tortoise must have constituted an
important article of commerce (Vide sup. -p. 207) ; and
the trade done in Eagles would be simply enormous.

Having now completed our survey of the primitive
constellations of the Greeks, and of constellation-
subjects, as they appear in the earlier Greek
literature and art, in the non-Hellenic art of the
Aigaion and of Asia Minor, and on Phoenician and
Etruscan coins ; we must next pass eastwards to the
Euphrates Valley, and consider Babylonian astronomy
and astrology as they existed under the sway of the
successors of Alexander.

CHAPTER VIIT.

Babylonian Astronomy after Alexander.

The overthrow of Darayavaush III. presented most
unexpectedly a final and marvellous chance of head-
ship and supremacy to the mighty city which had
witnessed the far-off glories of Khammurabi and
the comparatively recent and almost unparalleled
splendours of Nabukudurra-utsur (Nebuchadrezzar)
the Great. For the wondrous Macedonian, even at
that supreme moment when fate and gloomy night
encompassed him around, had decided that Suanaki
('the Place-of-heavenly-power ') known as Tintirki
(' the Place-of-the-Tree-of-life '), and Ka-dingira
(' the Gate-of-the-gods '), which latter appellation the
Semite rendei'ed Bab-ili, Babilu (Babylon), should be
the centre and capital of a world-wide empire. The
last few months of a life whose storm and stress have
only been equalled by the careers of Hannibal and
Xapoleon were spent in surveying and repairing the
canals adjacent, in visiting the tombs of ancient
kings situated in the marshy region west of the
Euphrates (Cf Strabo, XVI. i. 11), in marshalling
the Army of the West, and in receiving ambassadors
and delegates from almost every region between
Bakhdhi ('the Highlands,' Pers. Bakhtri, Gk.
Baktra) and Gaul. Envoys from Spain and Italy,
from Qarth-hadaSth (Carthage) and the Aithiopian
Meroe far in the south where Neilos hid his sacred
head, waited upon the conqueror of Parsa (Persia)

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 3 I 5

to know his pleasure. One Power alone was unrepre-
sented in that mighty gathering, and had not the
relentless Atropos so early cut the thread of this
superb and splendid life, it seems almost a certainty
that Rome would have had to encounter the banded
forces of three continents led by a general perhaps
not inferior to the son of Hamilcar. Dls dlter visum,
.and the death of Alexander sealed the doom of Babilu.
The conquest of Nabunahid (Nabonidos) by Kuras
(Cyrus) in B.C. 538 had not seriously affected the
position or headship of the sacred city of B^l. Kuras
and his son Karabujiya (Kambys^s) were, as the
cuneiform records have shown, votaries of the
Babylonian religion ; and under their sway Babylon
continued to be the capital of the empire. It was
only after the accession of the great Djirayavaush
in B.C. 521 that the sacred city, for the first time
since old Assyrian days, experienced the humiliation
•of a I'eal subjection, the chief elements in which were
that it was reduced to the level of a provincial
capital, and subjected to a heavy taxation, whilst its
religion, if not altogether disendowed, was promptly
disestablished. Darayavaush, the monotheist, whose
sole divinity was the Avestic Ahura-Mazda (' the
All-knowing-lord '), Auramazda, Ormazd, was not
likely to look with favour upon Bel and the complex
Babylonian pantheon. As a natural consequence the
Babylonians, when opportunity offered, broke into
revolts, which were suppressed by the Great King
with much severity. On the Rock of Baz-istan
(' Place-of-the-god '), Behistun, he has left an
.account of the principal campaign against Babylon
iind his capture of the city. But Darayavaush was
no tyrant in the ordinary sense of the word, and his

3l6 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

career, considering the age he lived in, is free from
the terrible and deliberate cruelty which unbridled
power so often produces in the despot. According-
to a not very probable statement of H^rodotos
(i. 183), the king plotted to carry off a golden
statue 12 cubits high from the temple of Zeus-B^los,
' but had not the hardihood to lay his hands upon
it.' It seems clear, upon the whole, that the
sacred treasures of Babylon and the cult of B^l
remained undisturbed during his reign. His far
feebler and more tyrannical son Khshayarsha
(Xerxes) advanced much further in the direction of
absolute oppression. Early in his reign, provoked
by attacks on their religion, the Babylonians again
rebelled and were again subdued. Either then or
on the king's return from Greece the temple and
great Tower of B^los were plundered and partly
destroyed, the walls dismantled to a considerable
extent, and otlier public buildings either injured or
demolished (Vide Strabo, XYI. i. 5; Arrian, vii. 17,
etc.). According to Herodotos the famous golden
statue was removed, and a priest, who protested
against the act, was put to death. Gradually, how-
ever, as the fervour of the monotheism of the race of
Hakhamanish (Gk. Achaimen^s) cooled, Babylon
somewhat recovered her position. The burning of
the palace of Susun (Shushan, Susa) the capital of
Anzan, the original kingdom of Kuras, an event
which occurred durinsj the reip-n of Artakhshatra I.
(Vide Susan Ins. of Artaxerxes II. ), was one cause
amongst several which induced the Persian monarchs
for some years to reside chiefly at Babylon, and there
Darayavaush II. died. His son Artakhshatra II.,
surnamed Abiyataka (' Having-a-good-memory,' Gk.

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 317

Mnemon) Avas a votary of the Avestic Ardvi Sura
Anahita ('The High, Powerful, Undefiled-one',) 'the
heavenly spring from which all waters on the earth
flow down ' (Darmesteter), 'the beneficial influence
of water' (Haug). This goddess appears in his
Inscription above-mentioned, under the name of
Anahata, together with Ormazd and Mithra. Anahita,
Gr. Anaitis, Anaitis, according to the account ot
Agathias (ii. 24) Avas evidently represented by
B^rosos, and doubtless regarded by the Babylonians,
as really identical with Istar, or possibly with Xana.
To the Greeks, therefore, Anaitis at once became
Aphrodite ; and so we find Clemens Alex, stating,
' B^rosos, in the third book of his Chalddika. shows
that it was after many successive periods of years
that men worshipped images of human shape, this
practice being introduced by Artaxerx^s, the son of
Dareios and father of Ochos, who first set up the
image of Aphrodite Anaitis in Babylon and Susa,
and taught her worship to the people of Ekbatana,
to Persians and Baktrians, to the inhabitants ot
Damaskos and Sardis' {Protrept. V. 65). All such
influences tended to foster the importance of Babylon,
and the city must still have been vast and magni-
ficent Avhen Alexander determined that it should be
the capital of his mighty empire, a choice which
further indicated that the period of Persian supremacy
bad vanished. In religion Alexander was as accom-
modating as heart could wish. As Mr. Hogarth well
says : —

'Now at Babylon a dignity, still more catholic, in whicli
Macedonian kingship and Hellenic hegemony would alike be
absorbed, was beginning to loom in his mental vision. Always
as he advanced, he widened his pantheon to receive successively

3l8 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

Melkarth and Amen, Jehovah and Bel ' {Philip and Alex, of
MaceJon, pp. 208-9).

At the time of his death Alexander appears to
have been on excellent terms with the Babylonian
priesthood. Diodoros (ii. 31) declares that they
correctly foretold things to him and to Seleukos, and
their solemn warning to him not to enter the city at
the time he did, nor with his face to the west, the
region of sunset and of death, was probably given
in all good faith. The Kaldai (Chaldaeans), originally
a comparatively small tribe, dwelling on the shores
of the Persian Gulf, had conquered Babylonia under
Merudach-baladan ; and at the time of Khshayarsha
the name still designated a small nationality (Vide
Herod, vii. G3). But even Herodotos (i. 181-3)
uses the term more particulai'ly in connexion with
the Babylonian priesthood ; and in the age ot
Alexander the title, as employed at Babylon, was
almost certainly restricted to the learned professors
of religious knowledge and occultism, who were
invariably either actually members of the priestly
body or in some way closely connected with it.
It is in this aspect that the Chaldaeans appear in the
Book of Daniel ; and these are the Chaldaeans who,
according to Ploutarchos, Avarned Alexander against
his unpropitious entry into Babylon. In later times
the term ' Clialdaean ' as used by the Latin poets
merely signifies an Occultist, astrologer or otherwise.
In Strabo's (XVI. i. 6) day some of the old stock
of the Kaldai still inhabited their ancient dwelling-
place ' in the neighbourhood of the Arabians, and of
the sea called the Persian sea ' ; but he applies the
term ' Chaldaeans ' more particularly to ' the native
philosophers, who are chiefly devoted to the study of

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTKONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 3 I 9

astronomy. Some, who are not approved of by tlie
rest, profess to understand genethlialogy, or the
casting of nativities.' They consisted, he says, of
various sects with differing opinions. ' The mathe-
maticians make mention of some individuals among
them, as Kiden, Naburianos and Soudinos.' Unfortu-
nately the works of the Greek mathematicians
referred to have not been preserved. The fraternity
was ultimately not one of nationality, but of special
knoAvledge, and so he concludes, ' Seleukos, also, of
Seleukeia is a Chaldaean, and many other remarkable
men.' During the last days of Alexander the court
swarmed with sacrificers, purifiers and prognosti-
cators ; they were all to be seen exercising their
talents there (Vide Plout. Alex. 706 B). The night
before the king's death some of his chief generals
' kept vigil in the fane of Serapis,' (Hogarth, p. 275)
seeking in vain for some favourable sign from the god ;
and doubtless the Chaldaeans were as busy as their
various co-religionists in expedients deemed suitable
to the occasion. As men of the world they must have
known that the death of the childless monarch who
stood alone on an awful pinnacle of grandeur and
glory, would inevitably produce strife and disorder ;
and that from such confusion Babylon could not gain^
and might easily lose. At the time of his death
Alexander was engaged in 'restoring' what Strabo
calls ' the tomb of Belos. It was a quadrangular
pyramid of baked brick, a stade in height [= fi07 feetj^
and each of the sides a stade in length.' Ten thousand
men had been working for two months at the repairs,
Babylon, if only this precious life could be preserved,
might rise in phoenix splendour to a new career of
glory before which the renown of earlier days would

320 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

vanish like Lucifer at sunrise. But hopes and prayers,

and vigils and incantations by the combined force

of the assembled ritualists, were all in vain ; at the

time of a glorious sunset on some day in the first

half of June, B.C. 323, Alexander passed into the

Unseen, and ' deep silence fell upon the great city

and camp of Babylon for four days and four nights '

(Hogarth, p. 27G). When the mighty funeral train

at last set forth from the capital to deposit the body

of the Conqueror in the great city which he had

founded and upon which he had bestowed his name,

man}^ a thoughtful Chaldaean must have entertained

grave misgivings that he was practically beholding

the funeral of Babjdon herself. As Alexander had

founded Alexandria, so must Seleukos found Seleukeia

-TT/jo? Tiypec, and thither were the greater portion of

the inhabitants of Babylon transferred, a fact recorded

in a cuneiform tablet to which that worthv scholar

the late Geo. Bertln first called attention. He says

' the fact has been doubted,' but there was certainly

no occasion for any scepticism. After speaking of

the eiFort of Alexander to repair ' the tomb of Belos,'

Strabo (XYI. i. 5) continues: —

' None of the persons who succeeded him attended to this
undertaking ; other works also were neglected, and the city was
dilapidated, partly by the Persians, partly by time, and through
the indiilerence of the Macedonians to things of this kind,
particularly after Seleukos Nikator had fortified Seleukeia on
the Tigris near Babylon, at the distance of about three hundred
stadia. Both this prince and all his successors directed their
care to that city, and transferred to it the seat of empire ;
at present it is larger than Babylon, which is in great part
deserted, so that no one would hesitate to apply to it what one
of the comic writers said of Megalopolis, " The great city is
a great desert." '

Seleukos was probably the best of the successors

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 32 I

of Alexander, and Pausanias (I. xvi. 3) expresses
himself as persuaded that the king was upi-ight and
reverential in matters divine, inasmuch as he restored
to the Milesians a statue of Apollon which Xerxes had
carried away to Ekbatana ; and ' when he had built
Seleukeia on the river Tigris, and had brought away
the Babylonians to inhabit it, he left remaining the
wall of Babylon and the temple of B^l, and allowed
the Chaldaeans to dwell around it.' Probably the
circumstance will not appear to us as furnishing
much proof of religious excellence ; but, at all events,
it indicated a judicious toleration. 'The temple of
Belos ' and ' the wall of Babylon ' were all that
was left of the city in the age of Pausanias
(VIIL xxxiii. 1).

' Babylon,' says Bertin, ' died a slow death ; its
temples were, little by little, deserted, and fell into
ruin. The ceremonies, however, went on before
a more and more reduced congregation, and the
cuneiform writing was still studied and used.
We have tablets down to the Christian era, and
perhaps later, and it appears to have been superseded
only by the introduction of Syriac by the Christians '
{Bahijlonian Chronology and History, p. 27).

Thus inch by inch, her ruin from time to time accel-
erated by shocks of earthquake, fell Babylon 'the glory
of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency.'
Sinking ever more and more beneath the accumulated
rubbish of ages, and in the increasing marsh formed
by waters no longer channelled and directed, thorns
came up in her palaces and brambles in her fortresses.
As man retired, his place was supplied by the wild
beasts of the desert ; there ranged the hyena and
the iackal, there leaped the rock-goat. And, lastly,
^ 21

322 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

as desolation deepened, and there were stretched out
upon it the line of wasteness and the stones of
wildness, gloom intensified in horror ; the region
became, in the imagination of all who knew it, the
special haunt of accursed creatures, the abode of
Lileth (Cf. Is. xxxiv. 14), the night-demon, last
representative of the god Mul-lil, a place where, to
reproduce the ancient belief of the land, theUsumgallu
(' Solitary-monster ') might feast upon the corpses
of the dead, and where the various demons of ' the
mountain, the field, the tomb ' were wont to meet
in hideous revelry. Thus was preserved the archaic
connexion of the spot with magic and mystery, and
the later Persians, faithful to their hatred of him
whom they called ' the accursed Alexander,' located
' in the land of Bawri ' (Ahdii Vast, 29), i.e., Babylon,
the ' accursed palace ' {Ram Yast, 19) of Azi-Dahaka
('the Fiendish-snake'), 'a three-headed-dragon'
(Darmesteter), who is one of the most remarkable
of the reduplications of the Euphratean Hydra- Ti^mat.
This brief notice of the fortunes of Babylon during
the last six centuries of its existence, may enable us
to appreciate the better the position and character
of Bab}'lonian astronomy under the Seleukids ; and
here, as ever, we must hold a middle course. On the
one hand, we shall find the most extravagantly
high estimates of ' the learning of the Chaldaeans '
(Dan. i. 4), such as XaX8ator <yivo^ fidjcov iravra
yivacTKovTODv (Hesj'chios) ; on the other, we meet
in some modern, and even recent, writers the view
that they knew little or nothing about astronomy
until brought within the illuminated sphere of Greek
genius, the results of which they had the good sense
to adopt. It is of course admitted that they possessed

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 323

a long series of observcations ; but these, it is con-
tended, were merely such as any child might have
made, e.g., the star A appears, event B happens, and
thus on. We will test this opinion by a particular
instance : —

' The British Museum possesses a tablet, written
100 years b.c, giving the list of nineteen lunar
cycles of eighteen years — that is, a table combining
the Metonic Cycle with the saros. This saros., or
cycle of the lunar eclipses, must have been discovered
after the settlement of the Greeks' [Italics mine.] in
Babylon. Why, pray ? What say the G-reeks
themselves on the matter ? We read in the Lexikon
of Souidas : — 'Zdpot. ' A measure and number among
the Chaldaeans. For 120 saroi make 2220 years
according to the reckoning of the Chaldaeans, since
the saros contains 222 lunar months, which make
18 years and 6 months.' Canon Rawlinson, speaking
of Babylonian astronomy, observes : —

' Their habits of observation led them to discover
the period of 223 lunations or 18 years 10 days, after
which eclipses — especially those of the moon — recur
again in the same order. Their acquaintance with
this cycle would enable them to predict lunar eclipses
with accuracy for many ages, and solar eclipses
without much inaccuracy for the next cycle or two '
{Aiict. Mons. ii. 575). And he quotes Geminos,
who, writing about B.C. 77, expressly attributes the
discovery of this and connected lunar cycles to the
^ Chaldaeans ' {Eisagoge, xv.). As regards the Metdnic
Cycle, the iweaKaiSeica KVKka (paeivov 'rjeXioio (Aratos,
Bt'osemeia^ 21), the Schol. on this passage, after
observing that ' tablets,' a Euphratean form of
' book,' were placed in the cities ' respecting the

21 *

324 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

nineteen years' cycle of solar revolutions, how that
in each year there shall be such and such a winter,
spring, summer and autumn, and such and such
winds, and many things for the use of men in their
daily li\'es ' ; and after stating that ' Aratos himself
learnt most things therefrom . . . since they are
sung from olden time and are familiar to the
Hellenes ' ; adds, ' And the Hellenes received them
from the Egyptians and Chaldaeans.'

Thus, the moment we turn from mere assumption
to historical testimony, the theory of the incapacity
of the Babylonians for astronomical discovery is at
once exploded. We need not suppose that Babylonia
would ever have produced an Hipparchos, but that
their astronomical attainments were of much assist-
ance to him is absolutely certain ; and, had his works
been preserved, it is more than possible that all the
scientific world would now reverence the names of
Kiden and his brethren (Vide sup. pp. 118, 319).
I will next enumerate certain details of astronomical
knowledge possessed by the Chaldaeans of the
Seleukid age : —

They had studied the courses of the planets, were
aware that Phospheros and Hesperos Avere identical,
knew the double character of Mercury as a morning
and evening star, and that the Moon is the nearest
planet to the earth (Diod. ii. 31). They knew that
sun, moon and planets adhere to the ecliptic and
were acquainted with its obliquity ; they were aware
that Jupiter is further from the earth than the other
planets except Saturn, and that Saturn is more
remote than Jupiter. This implies a knowledge of
the periodic times occupied by the revolutions of
these bodies. Their ability to predict lunar eclipses,

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 325

and, to some extent, solar eclipses, lias been noticed.
They were aware that the moon's light is not inherent
bnt borrowed ; and that a lunar eclipse is caused by
the interposition of the shadow of the earth. They
had mapped out the fixed stars in constellations,
northern, zodiacal and southern; and the ecliptic
into a lunar zodiac of 30 asterisms, and a solar
zodiac of 12 (Vide Ibid.). They noticed and
recorded occultations of the planets by the sun
and moon ; and held that eclipses of the sun were
caused by the interposition of the moon between the
sun and the earth (Aristot. Perl Ouranou, ii. 12).
' They knew that the true length of the solar year
was 365 days and a quarter, nearly. The exact
length of the Chaldaean year is said to have been
365 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes, which is an
excess of two seconds only over the true (sidereal)
year' (Rawlinson, And. Mons. ii. 576). The old
lunar year of 12 months of 30 days each ( W. A. I.
III. lii. Xo. 3, Eev. 1. 6) was corrected by intercalary
months when necessary. The nychthemeron, or period
of 24 hours, was divided, in accordance with the
divisions of the equator, into 12 Imshu ('double
hours') each of which was in turn divided into
60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds. Thus
we read, ' The day and the night were balanced ;
there were 6 Icashu of day, 6 laisbu of night'
{Ibid. III. Ii. No. 2, 1. 2-5). These observations
were assisted by a very considerable knowledge of
mathematics. 'A tablet from the library of Larsa
gives a table of squares and cubes correctly calculated
from 1 to 60, and a series of geometrical figures
. . . implies the existence of a Babylonian Euclid.
The plan of an estate at Babylon, in the time of

326 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

Xebucliadrezzar, has been discovered whicli shows
no mean knowledge of surveying' (Sayce, Herodotos,
p. 403). They had invented the sun-dial, and used
the clepsydra and the astrolabe. ' A lens, with a
fair magnifying power, has been discovered among
the Mesopotamian ruins. A people ingenious enough
to discover the magnifying glass would be naturally
led on to the invention of its opposite. "When once
lenses of the two contrary kinds existed, the elements
of a telescope were in being ' ( Rawlinson, And.
Jliins. ii. 578). Sir Gr. C. Lewis, who was inclined,
with perverse scepticism, to doubt the familiar
statement of Herodotos (ii. 109) that the gnomon
and the division of the day into twelve parts came
from the Babylonians, grudgingly accepts it, chiefly
on account of ' the relation of the Greek weights to
the Babylonian' (Astrou. of the Ancients, p. 176).
Far more sensible is the standpoint of Canon
Rawlinson that ' Avhen the astronomical tablets . . -
come to be thoroughly understood [and this period
has by no means yet arrived,] it will be found
that the acquaintance of the Chaldaean sages with
iistronomical phenomena, if not also with astronomical
laws, went considerably beyond the point at which
we should place it upon the testimony of the Greek
and Eoman 'writers' {Anct. lions, ii. 577). Lastly,
the Chaldaeans held that the kosmos was sustained
by Divine Providence ; and that the motions of the
heavens did not occur by chance, but by the certain
and determinate will of the gods (Diod. ii. 30).

I am not concerned in this work Avith matters
astronomical except incidentally, and therefore shall
not pursue this phase of the enquiry further ; but
I ask the reader to observe that a great mass of

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 327

sound knowledge of the kind was possessed, not
discovered, by the Babylonians of the Seleukid era ;
and that it was based, not upon anything received
from the Greeks, but upon an immense observational
experience in the past. If the Greeks had bestowed
this or that piece of astronomical knowledge upon
the Babylonians, they would have been prompt to
record the fact ; but, to their credit, the whole
testimony of Greek literature shows that they were
receivers in the matter. And this is proved to absolute
demonstration by the circumstance that, as appears
alike from Greek literature and the Babylonian
monuments, most of the knowledge which I have
specified had been obtained by Euphratean sages
thousands of years prior to the age of Alexander,
Thus, the Ziggiirat or tower of the temple of Nabu
at Bai'sipki (Borsippa), which was seven-staged
and painted in colours symbolical of the planets,
constitutes an ancient monument of planetary
knowledge. The names of the Signs of the Zodiac
show that the present arrangement was adopted
when the sun still entered Taurus at the vernal
equinox, i.e.^ between B.C. 4698 and B.C. 2540. The
lunar Zodiac, referred to by Diodoros, is contained
in a now famous Tablet (W. A. I. V. xlvi. No. 1) so
difficult that, as yet, no Assyriologist has been able
to give a satisfactory translation of the whole of it.
I purposely abstain from repeating here the conflicting
list of vast periods of years ascribed by Classical
writers to the term of Euphratean stellar observations,
because I do not doubt that they are all founded on
an utter misconception of the meaning of the numbers
employed ; and I will deal with this branch of the
subject in connexion with the ten antediluvian kings.

328 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

Suffice it to remark that the Latin translation of the
commentary of SimpHkios on the Peri Ouranou of
Aristotle states, on the authority of Porphyries, that
Kallisthen^s, who accompanied Alexander to Babylon,
sent Aristotle a series of Euphratean astronomical
observations covering the period of 1903 years, that
is, commencing about B.C. 2226. There is nothing
in the least improbable in this ; and it maybe noticed
that SynkelJos places Belos, who, he saj-s, 'first
reigned over the Assyrians,' and of whom Pliny
says, ' Inventor hie fuit sideralis scientiae ' [Hist.
Xat. vi. 36), B.C. 2286.

With reference to the opinion that there are no
' real astronomical documents ' and that there was
' no astronomy ' before the Greek period, ere entering
into details it is to be observed : —

1. Notwithstanding the very large amount of
cuneiform astronomical literature which we possess,
the greater part of it has perished, or has not yet
been recovered. We shall therefore never know all
that it contained.

2. As a multitude of persons are interested in
superstition for every single individual who is
interested in science, purely scientific observations
would have the least chance of being preserved, and
pi'obably attracted but very little attention. In later
times the discoveries and works of Hipparchos passed
almost unnoticed ; and the poem of Aratos, in all
probability, owes its preservation to the fact that
from an early date it was accompanied by })ictorial
illustrations.

3. It was expressly asserted by Berosos that 'from
Nabonasaros [Nabu-natsir, B.C. 747] the Chaldaeans
have an exact account of the movements of the stars,

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AKTEE ALEXANDER. 329

Since Nabonasaros collected and suppressed [as far
as he could] the records of the kuigs before him '
(Synkel. Chronograph, p. 207, B.), 'in order,' says
Canon liawlinson, 'that exact chronology might
commence with his own reign.' It is impossible,
therefore, to say what amount of astronomical
observations maj'^ then have perished.

4. In B.C. 689 the Assyrian king Sin-akhi-erba
(' The Moon-god-has-given-brothers,' Sennacherib)
captured Babylon. The Assyrians on this occasion
plundered the treasures, destroyed the images of the
gods, burnt the houses, levelled the walls, and threw
down the temples and towers (^"ide Smith and Sayce,
Hist, of Babylonia, 1895, p. 130). ' The older library
of Babylon,' says Prof. Sayce, ' perished for the most
part when the town was destroyed by Sennacherib '
(^Herodotus, p. 399). It is, to a great extent, owing
to the care and literary tastes of the cruel Assur-
bani-pal, the Louis XIA". of Assyria, who succeeded
his father Assur-akh-iddina (Esar-haddon) in B.C. 668,
that so much of the old literature of Babylonia has
been preserved.

These important circumstances sliould be carefully
borne in mind when considering this question ; and
I will next give an illustration of another baseless
inference : —

' Ptolemy mentions that a continuous series of
observations of lunar eclipses was in existence in his
time up to the era of Nabonassar {Meg. Synt. iii. 6),
referrins: elsewhere to the five earliest Babylonian
eclipses known to Hipparkhus, of 721, 720, 621 and
523 B.C. The inference drawn from Ptolemy's
Avords by Sir G. C. Lewis {Astrun. of the Ancients,
p. 288), that the series of recorded eclipses did not

330 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

ascend beyond B.C. 747, is overthrown by the single
fact that the official archives of the Assyrians note
the solar eclipse of the 15th of June, B.C. 763 '
(Sayce, in Trans. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. iii. 149).

I will next give an instance of a real ' astronomical
document ' prior to the Greek period. ' Nous pos-
sedons . . une tablette astronomique babylonienne
. . qui n'est pas obscurcie par des superstitions
astrologiques. Ce texte, . . concernant I'an sept de
Cambyse,' B.C. 523-2, contains observations on the
moon, and on the risings, settings, and conjunctions
of planets, ' et le texte finit par la description de
deux (Eclipses lunaires, les seules qui aient et^
visibles h, Babylone durant cette annee 7 du rfegne
de Cambyse.' The contents of this Tablet were
known to the Greek astronomers ; and a translation
of it, as M. Oppert shows, is actually contained in
the Almagest (Vide sup. p. 118). We could not
have a more absolute proof that pure astronomical
research obtained at Babylon prior to the era of
Alexander (Vide Oppert, Uii texte bahylonien
astronomique et sa traduction greque dapres Claude
PtoUmee, in the Zeit. fur Assyrwlogie, Marz, 1891,
p. 103 et seq.).

The one prominent literary figure of the latter
days of Babylon is the priest of Bel whom we know
under the Greek form of his name as B^rosos or
Berossos. In his Chaldaika, the materials for which
he states that he derived from the archives of the
temple of B^los, he purports to give an account of
Babylon, and to some extent of Babylonia, from the
earliest times. He gives the creation legend, the
myth of the sea-god Oannes, introducer of civilization,
the succession of the ten antediluvian kings, and the

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 33 1

story of the Deluge. This was followed by an
account of the latter history of the city down to its-
capture by Kuras. He also wrote on the history of
Mada (Media. Vide Agathias, ii. 24). He was born
in the reign of Alexander and appears to have
compiled his works in the reign of Antiochos II.
B.C. 261-46. lie also composed various astronomical
treatises, which have unfortunately been lost ; they
furnished material for Greek writers such as-
Diodoros, and the most important of them was a
translation of what Prof. Sayce calls ' the standard
astrological work of the Babylonians and Assyrians/
i.e^ the Eim Bill ('the Eye' [ = Illumination] of
Bel'). This is wliy Seneca writes, ' Berosus, qui
Belum interpretatus est' (^Xat. Qu. iii. 29); and
why Belos was styled the ' inventor ' of asti-onomy
(A'ide sup. p. 328). Opinions of Berosos respecting-
the moon have been preserved by Plutarch, Stobaios,
and Vitruvius, and the latter {De Architect. IX. iv. 7)
states that he treated of the properties of the Signs
of the Zodiac, of the planets, and of the sun and
moon; and that he established a school of learning
in the island of Kos. According to Seneca, he held
that the world would be burnt when all the planet*
met in Cancer, and destroyed by a deluge when they
all met in Capricorn. He considered, on astrological
grounds, that man might attain the age of 116
years (Pliny, Hist. Nat. vii. 50); and in another
passage the Itoman writer says, ' Astrologia Berosus,.
cui ob divinas praedictiones Athenienses publice m
Grymnasio statuam inaurata lingua statuere ' {IbicL
37). The only passage in Berosos which here
requires special notice is his list of the antediluvian
kings with the lengths of their respective reigns.

332 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

The basal numbers of Euphratean arithmetic
Avere 6 and 60, which latter was also the unexpressed
denominator of fractions, aud the mathematical unit;
so that the single Avedge stands for 60 (Sem. sus-su,
Gk. aa)a-ao<;) as well as for 1. The Ak. and Sem.
ner (Gk. j^^po?) = 600, and in Ak. means 'foot';
hence 60 x 10 (toes) == the ner. Lastly, the ner
multiplied by 10, in Ak. jnir (' a heap '), becomes the
•sar (' multitude,' Gk. adpos:), i.e., 3,600. Bertin well
notes that 60 is the basal 6 multiplied by the 10
(fingers); and 6 = 5 (fingers) + 1 (hand). Again,
GO (= 5 fingers + 1 hand x 10 fingers) x 2 (feet)
= 120, which, as we shall see, was an archaic
division of the circle, and included the year of 10
and of 12 months (For the connexion between
archaic numeration and the parts of the body, vide
R. B. Jr., Ugro-Altaic Numerals : One-Five, in the
Proc. Soc. Bib. Archaeol. Feb. 1888 ; The Etruscan
Numerals, 1889 ; and Potts' classic Zuhlmethode,
Part i. 1847; Part ii. 1868). According to Berosos,
the 10 antediluvian kings reigned 120 saroi, {=
3,600 X 120) = 432,000 years. The circle of 120°
presupposes the division of each of the 12 Signs
into 10°, and as each degree contained 60' and
each minute 60 , 10 x 60 x 60 (=36,000) =i^^-
of the circle, and 36,000 x 12 = 432,000, or the
circle divided into seconds. We thus at once obtain
the clue to the apparently preposterous statement
that the 10 kings reigned 432,000 years ; and observe
that they occupied the heaven circle of the ecliptic.
Whatever, therefore, they may have originally repre-
sented, they practically appear in the account of
Berosos as stellar reduplications ; and it next becomes
obvious that the lengths attributed to their respective

VIII j BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 333

reigns, whicli are clearly not arbitrary, must
correspond with the distances separating certain ot
the principal stars in or near the ecliptic. So
regarded the list appears thus : —

Reign in

Point in

King.

Saroi.

Degrees. Ecliptic.

Degrees,

1.

Aloros (Ailuv)

10

= 30

Hamal

31

2.

Alaparos (Alap-ur)

3

= 9

Alcyone

10

3.

Amillaros (Amil-ur)

13

= 39

Aldebaran

43

4.

Ammemon (JJmun-an)

12

= 36

Pollux

36

5.

Amegalaros (Amil-gal-ur)

18

= 54

Eegulus

53

6.

Daonos {Dannu)

10

= 30

8pica

44

7.

Baedoranchos {Bar-an-hhu) 18

= 64

Antares

53

8.

Amempsinos {Amar-sin)

10

= 30

Algedi

20

9.

Opartes (Ubara-tutu)

8

= 24

Deneb Algedi 16

10.

Xisoathros (Xaxisadra)

18

= 54

Slcat

54

120

360

360

The vast periods attributed by Classical writers to
Babylonian star-gazing must evidently be dealt with
on similar lines. Bertin, in his Lectures at the
British Museum on Babylonian astronomy, stated that
the Babylonians ' admitted the existence of a cosmical
year . . . this period was one of 360,000 years.'
Whether he were right or not in his special view of
how this period arose in idea, it seems to be connected
with a year of 360 days and a division of the circle
into 360°, one day being in some way or other
representative of or equivalent to 1000 years. When
therefore Epigenes of Byzantion (tem. Augustus),,
who is stated to have studied in Babylonia, declared
(ap. Pliny, Hist. Nat. vii. 57) that the Chaldaeans
had brick records of astronomical observations
extending over a period of 720,000 years, these
figures, whatever may be the exact meaning of the
statement, merely represent 2 kosmical years. The

334 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

double of this, 1,440,000, or 4 kosmical years is
given by Simplikios (ad Aristot. Peri Ouranou^ 475 B.)
as the period of these observations. According to
Pliny (vii. 57), Berosos and Kritodemos of Kos put
this term at 480,000 years; and this figure is perhaps
arrived at by quadrupling the original Euphratean
cii'cle of 120", and may be equivalent to the 4 kosmical
years of Simplikios. Other large numbers are given
by other Greek and Latin writers, but it is needless
to notice the question further ; particularly since the
errors of copyists have to be taken into account.
Suffice it that we can now perfectly understand the
statement of Berosos respecting the antediluvian
kings ; and shall find that, in harmony with this
explanation, the archaic Euphratean planisphere was
divided into a central circle of 120°, an inner or
northern circle of 60°, and an outer or southern circle
of 240°.

It is to be noticed that these Euphratean ideas
connected with kosmic periods appear to have
influenced other Asiatic nations. Thus, the Indian
system of the Yugas or ages of the world presents
many features which forcibly remind us of the
Euphratean scheme. The age-cycle is formed by
the numbers 48, 36, 24. and 12 = 120,= the number
of the saroi of the Babylonian kings, whilst
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10. The numbers 10 and 12 thus
form the basis of the cycle, 10 kings, 12 lunations,
or other divisions of the year. To make up the
divine year, the product of these, 120, is multiplied
by 100, i.e., by 10 intensified. The 120 thus
becomes 12,000 (years), which is also the duration
of the Iranian divine year, and which gives 1000
years for each month and for each Sign of the Zodiac

4,800 X 360 =

1,728,000

3,600 X 360 -

: 1,296,000

2,400 X 360 =

864,000

1,200 X 360 =

: 432,000

A MahS-yuga =

4,320,000'

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 335

(Vide Bundahis, xxxiv.). But a divine day = a
human year, and hence a divine year = 360 ordinary
3'ears, whence we obtain the figures : —

(Vide Dowson, Clas.
Diet, of Hindu MythoJ.
1879, pp. 381-2)

= 432,000 X 10 (years).

Again, the Iranian stellar host is said to be 6,480,000
in number {Bundahis, ii. 5), that is to say, 4,320,000
+ 6,000 X 360 (= 2,100,000), or 18,000 x 360, or
432,000 X 15, or a Mah^-yuga and a half. All these
numbers appear to be connected in origin, and are
in no case arbitrary, but, in the larger amounts, are
intensifications of the smaller.

The Greek divinities respectively connected with
the five planets are Kronos, Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, and
Hermes, the reason being that they were considered
the analogues of Ninip, Marduk, Nirgal, Istar, and
Nabti, who were similarly connected with the planets
in the Babylonian scheme. The Romans, in turn,
acting on the same principle with respect to the
■Greeks, made Saturnus, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and
Mercurius their planetary gods, whence our modern
names for the planets. This very familiar example
illustrates the almost slavish dependence in early
times of Greek upon Babylonian astronomy. To the
mythologist the equations thus established are very
interesting. Thus, Ninip was a Sun-god, ' the meri-
dian sun' {W. A. I. IT. Ivii. 51), a circumstance
Avhich illustrates the undoubtedly solar element in
the concept of Kronos (Vide R. B. Jr., Sem. Part III.
Sec. xiii.).

336 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

An allied subject is the orientation of Greek
temples, a highly interesting enquiry which has
been specially prosecuted by Mr. F. C. Penrose.
From his researches and those of Sir Norman
Lockyer (Vide sup. p. 6) we find e.g., that HamaJ
was the patron-star of the temples of Zeus at Athenai
and Olympia, and Spica the patron star of the
temples of Hera at Olympia, Argos and GIrgenti.
Xor is the reason far to seek. Ann = (by analogy)
Zeus, and, as we have seen (Sup. p. 54), Anu
was the patron-divinity of the Earn ; therefore the
Greek makes his corresponding divinity patron of the
i?am-star (^aArietis). ls,iax- Virgo (with her special
star Spica) = the Great-goddess-mcther of Asia Minor,
= (by analogy, the Aryan) Hera. All such circum-
stances are admirably illusti'ative of the true connexion
between Euphratean and Greek astronomy ; and of
the position of the latter as a daughter of the former.

I will now give a particular example of the practice
of Babylonian astronomy in the Greek period, viz.,
the Tablets No. 137, 82-7-4, dated b.c. 273, and
Rm. iv. 397, dated B.C. 232. These two Tablets,
which have been edited and translated by the Rev-
Fathers Epping and Strassmaier, contain the names
of the Signs of the Zodiac and descriptions of various
single stars and star -groups in or near the ecliptic;
they also record a series of observations of the moon
and planets. Thus, Tablet No. 137, 82-7-4, which
is dated ' the 38th year of Antiuksu (Antiochos) and
Siliiku (Seleukos) the kings ' reads (1. 6) : —

' On the 18th — cloudy and dark. On the night
of the 19th, in the morning the moon was distant
about 6 ammat [An ammahi, primarily a ' cubit,'=
2'' 18', J from the westerly Tivin ( Castor , a Geminoni m) .

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 337

This specimen Avill show the general character of
the observations recorded; and the list of the star-
names which these two Tablets contain, and which
I have translated from the Babylonian, is as follows : —

1. ' The westerly-one of the head of the Ram '
{Ku, for Kusarikku), = ^ Arietis.

2. ' The easterly-one of the head of the Ram'
= a Arietis (^Hamal, ' the Ram ').

It will be remembered that Hipparchos did not

compile his Star-catalogue prior to B.C. 150 ; and

the reader who wishes to understand the influence

of the Babylonian upon the Greek sages, will compare

the items in this List with those of the Hipparcho-

Ptolemy Star-list (Vide sup. Chap. III.). In the

revised List of the time of Ptolemy a Arietis is an

unformed star ; but Ptolemy notices that Hipparchos

■ placed it ' at the muzzle ' of the Ram (Vide sup.

p. 22). And this is evidently the Babylonian

position of the star with respect to the constellation-

iigure. That Hipparchos, who partly resided at

Alexandria, had access to the knowledge contained in

the astronomical cuneiform tablets we have already

had occasion to notice (Vide sup. p. 118). As

M. Oppert observes, ' Hipparque d'Alexandrie avait

a sa disposition des " assyriologues " . . ils connais-

saient mieux les cuneiformes que ceux de nos honores

confreres qui croient en savoir bien plus que tous

leurs contemporains.' The head of Aries was

reverted, and looked back towards Taurus. So

Manilius : —

' Aurato princeps Ai'ies in vellere fulgens
Respicit, admirans aversum surgere Taurum '

{Astron. i. 263-4).

22

338 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

3. 'The Foundation, '= the Pleiad. {Svp. p. 274).

4. ' The Yoke,' or ' Furrow,'= a Tavri (AJdebaran,
' the Follower '—of the Pleiad).

The ecliptic was regarded as a ' Yoke ' laid across
heaven, and as ' the Furrow of heaven ' ; and in
process of time this name of the ecliptic became
transferred, as a technical term, to its foremost first
raaii^nitude star.

5. ' The northern light of the Chariot' {of Auriga)^
= yS Tauri. Cf. Ptol. Bull, Star No. 21.

6. ' The southern light of the Chariot^' =:
^Tauri. The original i??/// consisted of the Uyades
only.

7. ' The westerly-one at the beginning of the
Twins;= V Gem. Cf. Ptol. Tiiyns, Star No. 14.

8. ' The easterly-one at the beginning of the
Twins' = II Gem.

9. ' The Ttoin of the Shei)herd^'= 7 Gem. (Vide-
siq). p. 288).

10. ' The westerly Tipin,'^=a (rem., {('nstor).

11. 'The easterly Tiriu^'^ ^ Gem. (Polhix).

12. 'The westerly-one at the south of the Crab,'—
e Cnncri.

13. 'The middle of. the Crah: = e Cancri. Cf.
Ptol. Crab, Star No. 1.

14. ' The westerly-one at the north of the Crab^=
7 (_'anrri.

15. ' The easterly-one at the south of the Crab,'=
S (_'a>icri.

16. ' The head of the Lion,'= e Leonis. Cf. Ptol.
Lion, Star No. 4.

17. ' The Kiiiq,'= a Leonis {Reqidus. Vide sup.-
p. 62).

I'OHTION OF THE BAB^'LONIAN I1F.A\'EN.
CANCETi aivd some Stai-s adjacent (VTde Paje338)

^ Masii -m ah ru .

dr.- w -^^

WMastt - ar Ku

-Ar7f u -^-^"^ •Mahru aa Naiiqaru sa sutu

^^'u^^H^^

Ltri.LA

Mam saritu
arltat Sami

_^^T^AKE

KAKSISA

JMesre

(^\\*'

ALLA

Ts'irtt

Mte:- Sum,.-Ak rutnt^ are printed in-R^rwarv LETTE/tS,

VIll] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 339

18. ' The small-one of tlie region after the King,' = p
Leonls. That such a comparatively small (4th
magnitude) star as this, should be separately named,
shows how carefully the whole stellar array had been
studied and mapped out.

19. ' The end of the tail of the Dog of the Lion,'=
Leonis. In the Euphratean sphere it seems that the
figure of a Dog was placed behind the Lion, and
flying from the latter, fearing lest it should turn
round. Agreeably with this we find that the Xlllth
Arabian Manzil (Lunar-mansion) is called Al-Auwa
(' the Howler ' ) ; and Smyth, speaking of /3 Virgims,
says, ' Piazzi calls it Zavijava, which is coiTupted
from Zdwiyat-al- awrii , the retreat of the barker.
Ulugh Beigh has it Min-al-auwa — i.e., the stars of the
barker, or barking bitch. These stars, /3, 7, 8, and 17
[Virginis], and, according to Tizini, e also, form the
Xlllth Lunar Mansion ; of Avhich 7 is termed by
Kazwini Zdwiyah- auwli. (the barker's corner), being
at the angle of those stars ' ( Cycle of Celest. Objects,
ii. 258). This Dog was not a separate constellation,
but was included in the Lion, as, e.g., the Goat
( Capella) in Auriga. Proctor, speaking of e, S, 7, rj,
and P Virginis, says, ' For some cause or other . . .
this corner was called by Arabian [and other] astro-
nomers "the retreat of the howling dog"' (Lasy
Star Lessons, p. 109). The cause now appears, and
it supplies an interesting instance of the connexion
between the Arabian Lunar Mansions and Babylonia.
As this .Dog was not adopted by the astronomy of
the West, his appearance here further illustrates the
fact that Tablets such as these were not wholly the
result of Greek influence, but proceeded on ancient
Babylonian lines (Vide inf. Xo. 29). The star-title

22 *

34° PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

in the original reads : — Etsen-tsiri (Ak. Glskun,
' Tail-tip ') Kalab A (= Aru^ ' Lion ').

20. 'The end of the tail of the Lion,' = ^ Leonis,
Denebola = (^Ar. ) Dzmiab-al-asad C'Tail-oi-th.e-hion').

21. ' The easterly foot of the Lio7i,' =y8 Virginis.
The howling Dog must have been represented as
running away almost between the Lions hind legs.

22. ' The bright-one westerly of the Ear-of-corn^
= 7 Virginis.

23. ' The one called Ear-of-corn^ ==; a Virginis
(Spica. Vide sup. p. 65).

2-i. ' The southern Claw,'' = a Librae. Cf. Ptol.
Claws, Star No. 1.

25. ' The northern Clau-; = y8 Librae. Cf Ptol.
Claws, Star No. 3.

2Q. ' The middle-one of the head of the Scorpion,
= h Scorpionis. Cf. Ptol. Scorpion, Stars Nos. 1, 2.

27. ' The front-one of the head of the Scorpion,' —
/3 Scorpionis.

28. This star is Antares (a Scorjjionis). Epping
and Strassmaier read 'Hurru (?),' Hommel reads
' Chabrud (Bedeutung unsicher).' I do not remember
to have seen the cuneiform ideograph elseAvhere. If
we divide its component parts, it reads (Ak.) Gir-iab-
bat (' Scorpion-of-death '). The expression ' serpents
of death ' occurs in W. A. I. IV. v. vi.. Col. ii. -11).

29. ' The star of the region in front of Pa,' = ^
Serpentarii. Pa = Papilsah, the upper western part
of Sagittarius (Vide sup. p. 78). Such a descrip-
tion shows that the Tablet is not the result of Greek
teaching (Vide No. 19). No stars in Sagittarius or
Aquarius happen to be mentioned in these Tablets ;
but adding from other tablets the usual stars occurring
in those two Signs, we obtain a total of thirty-sixzodiacal

VIll] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTEK ALEXANDER. 34 1

stars or star-stations, an artificial number which
I think, is clearly connected Avith the thirty -six names
of Ea (TF. A. I. 11. Iv.), considered as a zodiacal
power, whether lunar or otherwise. These thirty-six
stars supplied the origin of the theory of the Decans,
or thirty-six Genii, who ruled the Zodiac, and whose
late Graeco-Egyptian names are given by Julius
Firmicus (iv. 16). Decanal ' theology' was a secret
and important part of ancient astro-religious belief

30. ' The horn of the Goat,' = a Caprlcorni.

31. ' The westerly-one of the tail of the Goat,' = y
Capricorni.

32. ' The easterly-one of the tail of the Goat' = S
Capricorni, Deneb-al-giedi, (Ar.) Dzanab-al-jady
('Tail-of-the-Goat').

33. 'The Cord of the Fishes; = rj Piscium. Cf
Ptol. Fishes^ Stars Nos. 20-22.

The other three stars making up the thirty-six
would probably be : —

1. 'The star of the Left-hand' (of Sagittarius) = 8
Sag. (Vide sup. p. 78). Cf Ptol. Archer, Star No. 2.

2. ' The star of Nunp^ ' (' the Lordly-city,' = Eri-
duga, ' the Good-city,' = Eridu), = o- Sag.

3. ' The star of the Foundation,' = S Aquarii, Skat
(' the Leg ' — of the Water-pourer) .

Of course at this period, as at all others, the great
majority of observations were made with reference to
the Zodiac and to the planets its occupants. But so far
as the evidence of Tablets such as these extends, it
shows that the astronomers of the realm of Seleukos
had a scheme of zodiacal and general constellations
in many respects exactly similar, with the familiar
exception oit\\& Balance, to those which are at present
in use. I have already mentioned {Sup. Chap. III.) the

342 . PEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

astronomical abbreviations of the twelve Signs of the
Zodiac "which were then in use. Some other con-
nected tei'ms are umu^ urrii, ' day.' niusu, ' night,'
namaru. 'morning,' erihu, ^ evening,' eldf am, 'morning-
heaven,' lildtum, ' evening-heaven,' mdsu-ana-nam&ru^
' first-morning-dawn,' man-clu, ' solstitium,' suqahdu
saffi\ ' aequinoctium,' sadii (= ' the rising'), 'east,'
amurru (^ ' Amorite'-land), 'west,'^7MnM (^ ' the
direction of winter'), 'north,' sutu, 'south,' mahrii,
' westei'ly,' arhtt, 'easterly,' dis, 'northerly,' saplis,
' souther]}-.' Such was the character of Euphratean
astronomy during its final or Graeco-Babylonian
period. . As it drew towards its close, the observa-
tions of Aristillos and Timocharis (Vide sup. p. 120),
were paving the way for the Star-catalogue of
Hipparchos. ' The Almagest contains the Declina-
tions of eighteen stars observed by them for the epoch
B.C. 283 ' (Knobel, Chron. iSt/tr Cats. p. 2) ; and, in
the opinion of Montucla (^Histolre des MatMmatiques,
i. 217) 'they were the first [Greeks] to entertain the
idea of forming a Catalogue of Stars.' The two Greek
astronomers are only known to us from references to
their observations by Ptolemy ; and they, like the
other early star-gazers of active Hellas, would enter
into the labours of their Euphratean predecessors.

The changeless nature of the general principles of
astrology from Chaldaean times to the present day is
illustrated by a passage of Plutarch, who says,
' Respecting the planets, which they call the birth-
ruling divinities, the Chaldaeans lay down that two
[ Venus and Jupiter] are propitious, and two \_Mars
and Saturn] malign, and three [Sun, Moon, and
Mercury] of a middle-nature and one common ' (to
both aspects. Peri Is. Icai Os. xlviii.). That is, as an

VIIlJ BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTKll ALEXANDER. 343

astrologer would say, these three a,re propitious with
the good, and ma}- be malign with the bad. The
Sumero- Akkadian names of the five planets are given
in W. A. I. III. Ivii. Xo. 6, 1. ()5-7 as follows :—

■^^" '"^'1' u ilu Somas,

'The-god the-:\Ioon and the-god the-Sun,
?^"' Sul-])n-u(l-du (= Jlercun/),

the-god the-Messenger-of-the-Rising-sun,
htkkab Bilbat ( = Venus) ;

the-star the Ancient-proclaimer ;
kakkah Lu-bat . kaklcah

the-star the Old-sheep {i.e.), the-Star
Sak-us {= Saturn); ilu Luhat-gudihir {= Jupiter),
the-Eldest ; the-god the Old-sheep-of-the-

furrow-of-heaven,
kakkah Zal-hat-a-nu {7=Mars) sihu kakkahdni Lu-haii
the-star Star-of-death, the-seven Old-sheep-stars'

(are they).
It will be observed that the Sun and Moon are
included in the list of planets, and the seven are
regarded from a j^rimitive point of view as the
leading sheep, rams, or bell-wethers of the heavenly
flock. Of course, each of the seven had various names ;
and, also as of course, considerable differences of
opinion have arisen amongst Assyriologists on the
questions of the transliteration, translation, and
appropriation of these names. The difficulties of the
investigation have been increased by the fact that in
the case of two at least out of the five planets, the same
name has been applied to one of them at one pei'iod,
and to another of them in a later age. As sun,
moon, and planets are very closely connected with
all investigations into the origin and identification of
the constellations, it is desirable, ere treating of

344 TEIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

earlier stellar records, to obtain a fairly clear under-
standing respecting the names of the seven planets of
Babylonian astronomy. I will speak of them in the
order in which they appear in the above list, namely,
the Moon, Sun, 2[ercurij^ Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and
Mars.

1. TJie Moon. The following are the principal
Sumero- Akkadian moon-names: —

Alu (' The Measurer '). This is the astronomical
name of the Moon. The Ak. aka, is rendered by the
Sem. r^m2< (' high '), madaclic ('to measure'), etc.,
and is akin to the Turko-Tataric root «/i, ag, etc.,
whence such words as the Uigur alc-ari ('emperor'),
al-mak ('to-sit-on-high'), etc. (Vide Yamb^ry,
Etymol. p. 7).

Aa, A, Ai (' The Father'). Said to be a name of
the Moon as spouse of the Sun-god (Vide Pinches,
in Proc. S. li. A. Nov. 1885, p. 28). So Lenormant,
' La deesse lunaire Ai, epouse de Samas ' [Etude.
p. 16). Originally a male divinity (Vide Sayce, Rel.
And. Bahs. pp. 177-8, where an exclusively solar
phase is given to him), and styled Nin-gan (' Lord-
of-light'). The Eg. a&h ('moon') is perhaps a
connected form, and the name reappears in number-
less Turanian moon-words, such as the As. -Turkic
and Osmanli ai, Siberian Tatar aij, Ostiak i-re, etc.
(Vide R. B. Jr., K. p. 20; Sem. p.' 149).

Idu, Itu ('Month'), = Sem. Arkhu ('Month'),
must also have signified 'Moon' (Vide Lenormant,
Etude, pp. 47, 282), since we read in H^sychios
AlBw<;- rj aeKrivr], irapa 'Ka\SaioL<;. Another reading of
the word in H^sychios is 'AiSj??, and the forms
Ai and Idu also reappear in the name of the Homeric
AlaiTjv vfjaov, abode of the moon-goddess Kirk^, ' own

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY Al'TER ALEXANDER. 345

sister' of Ai't^'tt?? {= Ai-Itu), Lunus (Vide R. B. Jr.,
a; p. 33).

The ordinary Assyro-Babylonian name of the
Moon-god is Sin, which appears in various place-
names, e.g.^ Sinai. It has been suggested that Sin
= an archaic Sum.-Ak. Zu-eii, but this is altogether
doubtful. Prof Sayce observes that Sin ' at first
appears to have denoted the orb of the moon only '
{Bel. Anvt. Babs. p. 164).

The moon was also called by the Sumero-Akkadai
Nannar ('the Bright-one'), 'the strong Bull,'
{W. A. I. lY. Ix. 10), and Urii-ki (' the Protector-of-
the-Earth'). Nannar and a variant form Nanak
reappear in Greek mythic legend, the former as
'Nawdpof, a satrap of Babylon, the latter as ISiavvdKo^
or 'Awa/to9, a king of Phrygia (Vide Steph. Byzant.
in voc. 'Ikovcov). As darkness is prior to light and
night to day, the Moon heads the seven planets.

2. The Sun. The ordinary Ak. name of the sun
is Ud, Ut, Utu ; he is also called Utukl (' the Great-
spirit '), and, astronomically, Kasseha {= Sem.
Tsalam, 'the Symbol'). His Sem. -Bab. name was
Sawas, Samas {= Heb. Shemesh) ; so H^sychios,
Sato?" TjXto?. THa^vXaivioi.

3. Mercury. For Sulpa-uddu Prof Hommel prefers
to YQad.Dun-ghad-uddu{'' the Hero-of-the-rising-sun').
Mercury, and at times Jupiter (Vide Oppert, in Zeit.
far As. vi. Ill: Hommel, Die Astron. der Alien

Chaldder, ii. 5) are called by a name which has been
transliterated Sal-visa and Sag-me-gar (' The Face,
voice of light'). Salansa, despite the objections of
Jensen {Kosmologie, p. 124) appears to = Gk.

Se;^-6-?- Tov 'Epfiov da-Trip. Ba/3v\covi.oi, (Hesychios).

The planet was also styled Utu-altar (' the Light-of-

346 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATKlNS. [VIII

tlie-heavenly-spark '), 'the Priiice-of-tlae-men-of-
Kharran ' (== H:iran, ?>., ' the Highway '■ — to the
West), Dir ('the Dim,' or perhaps 'the Blue,' and
Nahu(LX'X. 'Na^w, ' the Proclaimer ' — of the coming
sun). Its late astronomical name was Gudl-hir
(Vide inf.).

4. Venus. Is styled D'llbat or Delehat (' the
Ancient-proclaimer ' — of morn and eve). So Hesy-
■chios, AeXicpar- 6 rrj<; 'A(f>poSlTr]<; aarrjp, viro 'K.aXBalcov.
The planet was also called Ninsi-anna (' Lady-of-the-
garden-of-heaven '), and MusteJil ('the Brilliant'),
and was identified with Istar.

5. Siiturn. Is styled i^t&a^s«l^<5 ('the Old-sheep,
the Eldest'), and S/i/ats-utu ('the Eldest-born-of-the-
Sun-god'), as having gone the farthest into space.
He is also called Mi (' the Black '), Kus (' Darkness')?
Zihanna ('Life-maker-of-heaven'), and Ginna ('Com-
mander'), which = the Sem. Ka-ai-nu (K. 4166),
Kdiwanu or Kaicanu, Heb. Kiyyi^n (Chiun, Amos,
V. 26), As. Keyvan, Gk. KtW ('Pillar').

6. Jvpiter. The sun was the original Gudl-bir
('Bull-of-light '), a name which by reduplication was
given to Jujiiter ; and, as noticed, ultimately to
Mercury. In W. A. I. II. xlvii. 21 gudibir (otherwise
read gut-tar or guf-tdm) is said to be equivalent to
the ^cm.- 2>i'(liift •s''' same ('the furrow-of-heaven '),
' i.e., the ecliptic, to which Jupiter is near ' (Sayce).
Jupiter is called pre-eminently the Luhat or Bihhu
(lit. 'quadruped,' met. 'planet'). The ' Bibbu-stars
[are] properly the moving, retreating sheep = the
planets' (Muss-Arnolt, Concise Diet, of the As. Lang.
p. 142). Jupiter is also Jfiistarilu, Ar. Mo.^chtart
('the Glittering,' ' Splendide lucens.' Ideler.) ; (Ak.)
LugdI-nerra, (Sem.) Sar-neri (' King-of-the-Yoke,'

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 347

?'.e., the ecliptic); and Nihlrv, ('the Strider- along').
M.M. Epping and Strassmaier give his late astrono-
mical name as Te-ut, but this I regard as incorrect.
The ife-form has also the value (Ak.) mul^ (Sem.)
kakkab, and the w^-form has also the value (Ak.)
habar^ (Sem.) tslt-samsi (' sun-rise '). This name of
Jupiter is therefore to be read Mnl-hahar (' the Star-

Ol-Sunrise '= ^lo\o^6/3ap- 6 rod Aib'; dcTT'^p, irapa

XaXBaioi^ (Hesychios).

7. Mars. In W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. 6, 1. 62-4, we
have seven names of Mars. It is ' the star Manma '
('Nobody.' Vide suj}. p. 73), Nakaru ('the
Hostile '), Tsarru (' the Enemy '), Khul (' the Evil '),
Sarru ('the King'), Zihit ('the Wolf), and Zalhat
(' the Star-of-death ')-anu. This last appellation, the
usual name of the planet, has generally been read
Ni-lat-a-nu. Prof. Hommel reads Zalbad, and pro-
poses to correct the reading BeXe'jSaTo?' 6 tov ttu/so?
Aa-TTjp. BajSvXmvioi (}l^sychios),toZe\e/3aTo<;. This, of
course, is tempting, and may perhaps be correct, but
is a speculation only ; and it is safer to take Hesy-
chios as we find him. Now, whilst no satisfactory
interpretation of the form Nihatanu has ever been
given, the reading zal may be supported on linguistic
grounds. The cuneiform character in question
may, in the abstract, be read either n^, ne, or zal,
zalli, Hi; and here, as frequently, the Turko-Tatar
languages come to our aid. The Turko-Tatar root
jal, jil, zil, il, means to 'gleam,' 'glance,' 'sparkle,'
' warm ' (Vide Vambc^ry, Etymol. p. 114) ; and from
it are formed such words as the Uigur jol-duz
('star'), and the Tchagatai jW-aw, al-au ('flame').
With j/'a/-aM, al-au, we may compare the Ak. zal-h, il-i,
.and may well read the sign in question za^, and under-

348 TRIillTIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

stand it as meaning ' bright,' etc., or simply as ' star.'
Zed actually appears as an Ak. name of the sun
(Sayce, Syl. No. 402). Thus, Zalhat will either
mean 'the Bright (Fiery, Red)-one-of-death,' or
simply 'the Star of Death'; and the Sem. inter-
pretation of the name is Mustcibaru mutanu (' The
Reveller-in-death.' Pinches. Vide W. A. I. Y.
xlvi. No. 1, 1. 42). Mr. Pinches has suggested to
me that ' the a-nu [in Zalhat-anu] is apparently the
Semitic phonetic complement.' No Ak. name would
end in this form, and as, according to Epping and
Strassraaier, an or anu, in the late astronomy, =
Mars, we may perhaps consider the name as a
linguistic equation, i.e., the Ak. Zalhat = Sem. Anu.
The Kahkah Bat-ga (' Star of Death ') mentioned in
W. A. I. III. Ivii. No. 2, 1. 6, is doubtless Mars.

With respect to the name Manma (Svjj. p. 347)
the planet Avas also called (Ak.) Nu-me-a, (Sem.)
Baluv (' That-which-is-not.' Aide sup. p. 73).
Other names of Mars were Gig (' Plague,' ' Afflic-
tion '), rendered in Sem. by MisalUvi mutani
('Agent of Deaths.' W. A. I. II. xlix. 40), and
<TaUam-ta-uddua ('the Bull-of-the-Rising-sun'),
which in W. A. I. III. Ivii. No 7, 1. 5, 6, is explained
as a name of Zalbat. The name Khul, Gul (' the
Evil.' Cf Ar. ghiil, \Yhich appears as a star-name in
Al-gol, /3 Persei), is rendered by (Sem.) Khum-khum
(' the Sultry.' W. A. I. II. li. No. 2, 1. 66). Simvt
(' Red-light ') was also a name of Mars (Vide TI". A. I.
II. xlviii. 54 ; III. Ivii. No. 2, 1. 2-5).

The above notice of planetary nomenclature, which
is by no means exhaustive, Avill be sufficient for the
jjresent purpose. The planets are very frequently
called ' gods ' as well as ' stars,' although the use of

VIIlJ BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 349

the term ' god ' is not absolutely restricted to them
to the exclusion of the fixed stars. The five planetary
gods are at times connected with more than one
planet ; thus ]\Iarduk may be linked with Mermry
as a morning-star and with Jupiter as an evening-star.
As of course, various intricacies of the astronomico-
astrological system are still exceedingly obscure.
Tablets which record observations naturally do not,
as a rule, contain explanations ; although the
existence of the two utterly distinct languages of
Sumero-Akkadian and Semitic Babylonian neces-
sitated translations, and also at times fortunately
occasioned the insertion of fflosses. We do not
expect to find the primary facts of astronomy, or the
explanation and identification of the names of stars
and of constellations in the astronomical observations
of the present time, the reason of course being that
every one concerned is perfectly familiar with these
things. The modern tombstone does not explain the
mystical m-eanings of the cross or anchor which may
appear upon it. But this natural silence respecting
the knowledge familiar to very early times must ever
constitute one of the chief difficulties for posterity ;
and some of the most useful historical writers have
been scribes who have recorded the thousand bits of
information common to every one in their day, but
which could not possibly have descended to later
ages without their aid.

The Lexicon of H^sychios, cir. a.d. 370, also
contains the following forms of Euphratean words
connected with Babylonian astronomy and religious
belief : —

'ASaet- iirjv Tj-apa XaXSaioti;. Sem. Adar.

B^Xdyr 7]"}ipa. 1] 'A^poSiTTj. Sem. B21at, Gk. forms

35 O PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

BaaXTK, B^\0i9. Baltlil was the Aphrodite of the
men of Haran (Vide Chwolsohn, Die Ssahier^
ii. 22).

B?;Xo?- ovpavo^. koX Zeiiq llo<7ei,SS)VO<; iito'i. Sem. BllUy

LXX. 'QrfK. A somewhat confused account in which
tlie Ak. god Mul-lilla, 'BoXaerjv { = JJeI-efhdii, 'the
Elder-Bel'), is confounded with the Bab. Bilu-maru-
duku [Br]\-/Maip(i)8ax), the son of Ea, which last-
named divinity is rightly called Poseidon.

Kofi^r)- KovpijTcov fj,^T7jp. Cf. the Storm-god Khum-
bala, (jk. Ko/x,^a/3o? (Peri tiis Sy. The. xix.), 'the
Maker-of-darkness ' (Boscawen), probably originally
identical with the Elamite divinity Khumha or
Khumhu-me.

Mnvaovp- =^ Ma^oi^pm^.Heb.-Ph. J/«.i.:7irrM,Bab.-As.
Jfazdrdti, i.e., the Signs of the Zodiac, Sum.-Ak.
Innun (' the Watches '), the night-watches being
marked by the transit of the constellations.

Mn/SaXdecrcra?" apiOfid. xal ra irepl ovpdvia crvvra^K-

'Bai3v\a)vioi,. This term is evidently compounded of
words connected with the Sem. middoh (' measure.'
Vide sup. p. 138), and asar ('to bind'). As. usuru
(' bound '). The celestial arrangement or encircling
bond or bonds must be the ecliptic and other
celestial circles.

yivXiTTav TTjv Oupavlav. 'Aaavpioi. Mylitta, Aphro-
dite Ourania (Vide H^rod. i, 131). ' Istar is not
called Mulidtu, " the bearer," in any of the texts we
possess, but such might easily have been her popular
title' (Sayce, Herod, p. 70).

'Vaixdr 6 {ii|rio-To? 6io<;. Bab. -As. Ramanu, Sj'rian
Raman, LXX. 'Fefifiav, A. V. Bimmon (Sup. p. 219).

XaXafi^d)- rj 'AippoBirr] irapa BaySuXtaj/t'ot?. The ^ty-
mol. Mega gives 'Za\d/ji,/3a<; ... 97 Bal/xaii. The name

VIIl] BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 35 1

is generally considered to represent Sala-ummu or
Shala-ummu (' Shala, the Mother'), Sala ('the
Compassionate ') being an Ak. sun-goddess and wife
of Dunnizi. This may be so, but \he Ak. Kass^ba
('the Sun') is rendered in Bab.-As. by Tsalmu,
Tsalamu, which would = a sun-goddess Salamvo,
Salambo. The Bab.-As. Imlamu ('image,' 'symbol'),
which is derived from the Ak. alam, a variant of
ahni (' a colossus ') = '" the spirit," from ala, with
the suffix (/ ' (Sayce), aJal or ala being a ' demon,'
' spirit.'

^apa^ijpco- -rrapa Brjpaxrm, 9? Koa-fitjTpia tjj? "Hpay.

Kosmi'tria^ Kosvieteira ('Orderer'), and was the
name of the priestess of Artemis Ephesia, here
identified with Hera. As. arMu (' to arrange '),
Heb. orakh (' to arrange in order'). S6pat;^09 appears
as a Bab. name in lamblichos (A'ide Chwolsohn,
Die Ssahier, ii. 281).

XuKaia- T] 'ZkvOiktj eoprij. In the treatise Perifes S//.
The. xii. it is stated that the general opinion was
that the temple at Bambyk^ had been founded by
' Deukalion [i.e., 'the Leader'] the Scythian.' In
this passage "ZkiiOtji; has, very properly, been corrected
by Lenormant and others to Sisythes, a variant of
Sisithros, Xisouthros or Khasisadra, the Euphratean
deluge-hero. A similar correction must be made
here ; the Sakaia is not a ' Skythian,' but a Bab.,
festival, and one, moreover, connected with Sisythes,
being held in the Xlth or deluge month. ' B^rosos,
in the first book of his Babylonian history, states
that in the Xlth month, called [by the [Macedonians]
Luos, is celebrated the feast of Sakaia, for five days,
when it is the custom that the masters should obey
their servants, one of whom is led round the house,
clothed in a royal robe, and called Zoganes ' (Athen,

352 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [VIII

xiv. 44, ap. Sayce), Ak. sagan, Bab. sakanu, from
Ak. saga ('head'), 'the Head-man' (Vide Sayce,
Rel. And. Bahs. p. 68).

SiV Tr)v <TeiJiv')']v Ba^vXcovioi. The reading here is
somewhat doubtful, but, if correct, may supply a
meaning, ' the Revered,' for the name of the famous
Euphratean Moon-god.

'Xioav ovTCi) KoXovai ILaXSaloi tov JldvrjfMov ixrjva. Sem.
Sivan.

A now famous passage in the writings of
that great Syrian philosopher, last of the Neo-
Platonists, whom we call from the place whence he
derived his name, Damaskios, is too important to be
passed over here, inasmuch as it shows to what
a late age the Chaldaean philosophico-religious
principles and beliefs were preserved, and how clearly
they were known to the later classical world. More-
over, all knowledge of Euphratean divinities tends
to assist in the study of Euphratean stellar-lore.
The Syrian states (^Peri Arehon, cxxv.) : —

' The Babylonians pass over Sige ' [This is generally
rendered 'in silence', and written 0-4717, and perhaps
Damaskios so understood it.J ^ Ak. Ztku, Zikum,
the primeval jsrinciple, ' the Mother that has begotten
heaven and earth ' ( W. A. I. 11. liv. 18), — ' the one
beginning of the whole, and make two,' Tauth^
,[ = Tidmati and Apason, = Ajjsu, Sum. Absu (' the
Deep '). Tiamat, Tiavat, Heb. Tehom (' the Deep')
is the Savdrd of B^rosos. ' Making Apason the
husband of Tauthe, and calling her the mother of
the gods ; from these an only-begotten son has been
produced Muymis', = Mummu ('Chaos'). 'And
from these another progeny has come forth — Lach^
and Lachos,' = Lakhmu and Lakhamu, i.e., 'Light,'
in kosmic couple, male and female. The circumstance

VIIlj BABYLONIAN ASTUOXOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 353

that the Ak. /aM, lalMha, = As. misu, 'pure,' makes
Prof. Sayce say of Lakhrau and Lakhamu, ' It is
possible that they denote the element of "purity"'
{Rel. And. Bahs. p. 38S). But an abstract idea,
such as ' purity,' is out of place in a kosmogony ; and
when we turn to the corresponding forms in the
allied Turko-Tatar languages, i.e., jak., sak, etc., for
an initial I does not occur, we find at once the
appropriate meaning, ' to appear,' ' to gleam,' ' light.'
As in the Genesis-account, so here Zi ('the Spirit')
moves upon the watery Tehom and produces
Lakhma (' Light ') ; but in the Euphratean account
the Deep and the Light become Pairs. ' Then again
a third (progeny arises) from these,' i.e., from
Tauthe and Apason. ' Kissar^ [ = Kisar, ' the
Hosts-of- Earth '] and Assoros ' [ = Ansar, ' the
Hosts-of-Heaven'], the Powers of the Lower and
Upper Expanse, regarded together as constituting
another divine couple. An-sar afterwards became
Assur, the supreme god of the Assyrians. ' From
which there were produced, Anos [ = Ak. Ana,
Sem. Anu], Ulillos [ = Illil, a contraction of En-lil,
W. A. I. V. xxxvii. 21, a name of Mul-lil.] and Aos
[= Ea]. And of Aos and Dauk^ [ = Dav-kina,
' the Lady-of-the-Earth '] was born Belos, whom
they say is the Demiurge.' A Babylonian version of
this kosmogony (translated by Prof Sace in Rel.
And. Babs. pp. 384-5) quite agrees, except that
Mummu-Tiamat (' the Chaos-of-the-Deep ') is made
one person and the universal mother. This kosmo-
gonical pedigree, a great and comparatively late
philosophical eifort, thus excellently preserved by
Damaskios, reveals very clearly the Chaldaean

23

354 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS. [vill

doctrine of tlie divine Ennead. The Classic passages
attributing this dogma to the Chaldaeans have
been collected by Lenormant (Zes Origines, i.
527-9), and I will only quote one of them,
' Divine is the number of the Ennead completed
from three Triads, protecting the ultimate results of
theology, according to the Chaldaean philosophy, as
Porphyry declares' (Joan. Laurent. Peri Mendn,
iv. 78). The Ennead appears thus : —

First Triad : — Sig^ — Tauth^ — Apason.

Second Triad: — Moymis — First Pair (Lache-
Lachos) — Second Pair (Kissare-Assuros).

Third Triad : — Anos — Illillos — Aos.

The (Ak.) divinities Lakhma and Lakhama are
mentioned in Tab. A'. 9417, with 'various dualities
of gods representing emanations of the male and
female principles of nature ' (Bezold, Cat. iii. 1010).
Similar kosmic divine couples occur in the religious
belief of Egypt (Vide lamblichos, Peri Mijst. viii. 3 ;
R. B. Jr., Sem. p. 157).

Various Euphratean words and names, both Ak.
and Sem., in addition to those above mentioned,
have found their wa}' into the Greek language. An
interesting example is furnished by the following
passage from Pherekyd^s Syros ; ' Zas [ = Zeus]
makes a mantle [ = the peplos of the Ph. Ivharm6n-
Harmcnia] large and beautiful, and works on it
[a representation of] Earth and Og^nos and the
dwellings of Ogenos' (Ap. Clem. Alex. Strom. VI.
ii. 9). H^sychios explains 'Vtjrjv as 'D.Keavo';. It is the
Ak. iJLu ('water') + gan ('canal'), the earth -
encircling Ocean-stream. Such, then, Avas the
general character and such the attainments of

VIIlj BABYLONIAN ASTEONOMY AFTER ALEXANDER. 355

Babylonian astronomy in the days of the successors
of Alexander. It remains for us to examine the
results of the efforts of Euphratean star-gazers in
connexion with uranography during the earlier
stages of their career.

23

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Page 32. — Liber Pater and the Diadema.

The Euplaratean Sun-god (Ak.) Utu, (Bab.-As.) Samsti,
Samas ('the Sun'), Heb. Shemesh, is the ' Lord-of-Crowns '
(Tab. M. 192).

Page 67. — The Scorpion-pair.

Amongst the ' gods in the temples of Babylonia and Assyria '
is mentioned Tudmu Giru (' The Twin, the Scorpion.' W. A. I.
III. Ixvi. E. 21).

Page 98.— S^ar No. 1.

This star, Sirius, is doubtless that called (Ak.) Ka-lih-lm,
(Sem.) Lisdn Kalhi (' the Tongue of the Dog ') in W. A. I. III.
Ivii. No. 5, 1. 15.

Page 169. — The Kabirim.

In 0. B. M. ii. 212 et seq. I have given a full account of the
Kabeiroi, who, according to Mnaseas, the Alexandrian gramma-
rian, were three, named Axiokersos, Axiokerse (Vide p. 227),
and Axieros. There was also a fourth, known by Greek writers
as Kasmilos. I have discovered the originals of these four
titles in the names of four stars mentioned in W. A. I. III.
Ivii. No. 2, 1. 2-5 (Vide Sem. p. 144). The cuneiform names are
Kas-mi-ln (= Kas-mi-los), Kas-hhis-zu {= Axio-ker-so-s),
Kas-si-ki-su (= Axio-kers-e) and Kas-sa (=^ Axie-r-os). A
variant of Kasmilos is Kadmilos, ' Casmillus administer diis
magnis (S. August, ap. Lobeck, Aglao'ph. p. 1245), i.e., Kabirim;
and Kadmos also is connected with them. His name, as a god,
Qa-ad-mu, appears in K. 2100 (Vide Sup. p. 2). The name
Kasmilu had reached the Etruscans, but in a variant form.
Thus, Macrobius says, ' Tuscos Gamilluin appellare Mercurium'
{Sat. iii. 8). These identifications open out new vistas in
connexion with that great crux the Kabeiric cult and ritual.

Page 230. — Poseidon, ' the King.^

The god of the Deep and the light-and-fire god are specially
' kings ' (Vide pp. 32, 186). So, in the Homeric Theomachy it
is Poseidon and Apollon who are called ' kings ' {II. xx. 67, 103).
Thus, again, fia (^ Poseid6n) is particularly ' £a, the King'

ADDITIONAL NOTKS. 357

(W. A. I. III. Ixvi. Rev. B. 27 ; Ob. F. 24), Lugal alzu {lb. II.
Iv. 24), ' Eing of the Deep,' just as Poseidon is'Ava^ aXiKparoip-
As Ea is En-an-hi (lb. 1. 18), ' Lorcl-of-lieaven-and-eartii,' so is
Poseidon ovpavitov re 6iMv ■n-a.Tep ^Se cai avSpiSv. Poseidon-Dagon
(Vide p. 188) is not merely the analogue of Ea ; he is the
reduplication of £a in the West. Dagon must be carefully
distinguished from the Ak. Da-gan (Vide pp. 189, 226), a title
of Mullil (Sup. p. 246), Bel-labaru, Bel-ethan (' the Elder Bel ' );
but if £a also (originally) := Sin, the moon-god (Vide Hommel,
Anc. Heb. Trad. p. 65 et seq.), the epithet ' the Exalted ' (Da-gan)
would well apply to him. In Tab. K. 163 + K. 218 1. 36, the god
TJ-da-gan is named. The passage is too mutilated for transla-
lation, but we are at once reminded of the 'nSoKwv of Berosos
{(Jlial. ii. 6), who, like other similar creatures mentioned by the
Babylonian historian, had a form compounded of man and of
fish. These fish-gods, brought by Kanaanites (Phoenicians)
from their old Euphratean home (Vide sup. p. 268) , reappear
along the Palestinian seaboard, and subsequently invade the
Aigaion. A careful comparison of the epithets of Poseidon
(Yide'Brvich.maunn,JSpitheta Deor.1893, p. 194 et seq.) and Ea (Vide
W. A. I. II. Iv. 17-52) shows, in a remarkable manner, the
former as a reduplication of the latter.

Page 244. — Nm-ip.

It seems probable that Ber was the ordinary pronunciation of
the name of this god, formerly called Adar (Vide Sayce, in Proc.
S. B. A. Nov. 1898, p. 261). At the same time he would also
be known as Ninip, a fact which is confirmed by the appearance
of the proper name Nivtv// in Gk. Kilikian inscriptions, where
we also meet with Ndvi/ (^ Bab. Nana, 'the Lady'), and Nevapis
( = Bab. Nannaru. Sup. p. 66).

Page 274.— T^e Pleiades.
Another common Euphratean name for the Pleiad is Kakhab
(Ak.) Mul, lit. ' The constellation Star' i.e., ' the Star ' ; just as
now /3 Ursae Min. is called Eochab, i.e., the ' Star ' (Heb.
kukhdbh, Bab.-As. IcaUabu), a title which reminds us of its
former supreme importance as the Pole-star. The Pleiad was
the Star when Taurus led the year. Tab. Sm. 1907 is an Ak.
text which treats of the constellation Mul and the ' Full-moon '
(AM-lar), as determining by their positions the length of the
year. That we should interpret this passage as referring to

358 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

Mill (^the Pleiad), and should not render Mul-Mul, ' Star-of-
stars,' and understand by this latter expression the star Dilgaii^
Afhar (Sup. pp. 220, 222), is clear from other passages. Thus,
Tab. lim. 2,313 contains observations of various stars and
constellations in this part of the heavens, including (1) Nam-
makh (' the Mighty-destiny '), y8 Aquarii, Sadalsund = Ar,
t<a'd as Suud (' the Luck-of-lncks '), and the region adjacent,,
the Arabic name being a translation, or, at all events, an echo
of the original Ak. appellation ; (2), Dilgan, (3) Kha, Sem.
INHnu ('the Fish, '^ some part of Pisces); (4) AJchna ('the
Glow-worm-of-eclipse,'= Mira, n Ceti) ; (5) Mul, (6) Gut-anna
(Sup. p. 57), also called Gut-dua (Sm. 1082, ' the Bull-in-front ' ;
(7) Kihsianna (Sup. p. 288), and (8) KaJcsisa (== Frocyoii) .
The question of the identifications of various stars and constel-
lations will be more fully entered into in Vol. II. We observe,
therefore, Bilgan and Mul vrere distinct stars. Similarly, in
Tab. 80-7-19, 100 we read : — 1. KabTcah Vil-gan ina arhlii
Nisanmi inna-mar (' The Star Messenger-of-Uglit in the month
Nisan is-seen '). 3. KakJcah Mul ina arkhi Aim inna-mar
(' The constellation the Star in the month lyyar [the Taurus-
month'] is-seen ').

In various tablets we meet with a star-god called imina-hi
('the Seven-fold-one'). Mr. L. W. King, commenting on
Tabs. K. 6395 + K. 10138, 1. 6, where we read, ' Powerful,
Seven-fold 07ie, are ye ', remarks : ' There is no doubt that the
name was applied to a group of gods who were so closely
connected, that, though addressed in the plural, they could in
the same sentence be regarded as forming a single personality '
(Bab. Mag. and Sorcery, 1896, p. 117). The star-combination
of Pleiad-Pleiades (Vide svp. pp. 55, 134) exactly answers to
such a description, although it could also be applied to other
7-star constellations, such as the Bears or Orion. In Tab. Sm.
1082 Imina-bi and Gut-dua (Vide sup.) are mentioned side by
side. This would exactly agTee with 'Pleiads and Hyads'
(Vide sup. p. 249). Tab. Sm. 1267 is very interesting in this
connexion. We read : —

3. Ilu Imina-bi ana Ichadhdlm

' The-god the-Sevenfold-one for (i.e., as-a-portent-of) food
■nanmuru eeru innamar. Kakhab Mul ii

(is) seen ; the com appears. The-constellation the-Pleiad and

kakhab Mar istenis naztizu

the-constellation ihe-Chariot by-themselves are-fixed.

ADDITIONAL NOTES. 359

5. KaTchah Lu-hat ana kahkab Mul iJcs-ud

The-planet Jupiter to the-constellation the-Pleiad attained;

*^" imina-hi ikassid

tlie-god the-Sevenfold-one is-in-the-ascendant :

khadhdhu
food ' (is plentiful).

There is nothing here to show that ' the god Imina-hi ' is
distinct from 'the constellation Mul.' On the contrary, the
principle of Semitic parallelism strongly suggests their identity.
imina-hi, like the Pleiad, is connected with the harvest and
with abundance. As Jupiter attains to Mul, we observe that
the latter is an ecliptic constellation, and therefore cannot be
BiJgan-Gapella. The Chariot (Sem. Narhahtu) referred to, is
probably that of Auriga, which adjoins the Pleiad. (Vide sup.
p. 338).

The star-name Aldi-nd above mentioned (Vide sup. p. 358)
is compounded of ideographs signifying Worm + Eclipse. The
Rev. Wm. Houghton {Trans. S. B. A., vi. 480) has suggested
that the ideograph for ' small worm ' represents ' a star ' or
' brightness ' ' placed within a circle, and [that] the whole [may]
be referred to some species of glow-worm.' It will be observed
how suitable such a name as ' Glow-worm-of-eclipse ' would be
for the star Mira (' the Wondrous '), which ' during each interval
of eleven months passes through the following phases : during
fifteen days it attains and preserves its maximum brightness,
which is equal to that of a star of the second magnitude. Its
light afterwards decreases during three months, until it becomes
completely invisible . . It remains in this state during five
months, after which it re-appears, its light increasing in
a continuous manner during three other months. Its cycle of
variability is then ended, and it attains again its maximum
brightness' (Guillemin, The Heavens, 7th edit., p. 306). Such
long and careful observers as the Babylonians would be sure
to detect the wonders of Mira. Alclina is also mentioned in
Tab. Rm. 2, 309 ; and in K. 11729, with Gar ( = NarJcabtv,
vide sup.), Dilgan, and other stars.

Page 338. — Cancer and some Stars adjacent.

The constellations and stars as shown are : —
Mastabba-galgal, Sem. Tudme-rahuti, 'the Great-twins'
(Qemini).

Mdsu-mahru, ' the Westerly-twin ' (Castor, a Gem.).
Mdsu-arku, ' the Easterly-twin ' {Pollux, /? Gem.).

360 PRIMITIVE CONSTELLATIONS.

Nagar-asurra (otherwise asagga), ' the Workman-of-tlie-
River-bed ' (Cancer).

Allah, ' the Hero,' explained in W. A. I. II. xlviii. 55 A, as
Kid-samsi-asri, ' Voice-of-the-Sun-place,' i.?., the highest point
in the ecliptic, the ' Gate of Cancer ' (e, rj, 6, y, 8 Cancri). The
Manger and Asses ; 8 and y -were known as the Jugulae
(' Yokes '), a title derived from a Eaphratean original.

Mahru sa Nangaru sa iUdnu, ' the Westerly-one at the north
of the Crah ' (y Cancri).

Lib-Nangaru, ' the Middle of the Grab ' (e Cancri), Praesepe,
' the Manger.' This is Jeammeda, ' nebulous.' (Vide sup. 59.)

Mahru sa Nangaru sa sutu, ' the Westerly-one at the south of
the Crab' (6 Cancri).

Arliu sa Nangaru sa sutu, ' the Easterly-one at the south of
the Crab' (8 Cancri).

PalliJca, 'the Crossing-of-the-Water-dog ' (Canis Min.).
A lunar asterism.

KaJcsisa, ' the Leader ' (Procyon, a Can. Min.), called (Sem.)
Mesre (' Leader,' ' Director ') and SuJcudu (' the Restless,'
impetuous).

Lulla, ' the Fox ' (a Cancri). Otherwise Ltil-a ; named with
Mastabba-galgal, Kaksisa, Lugal and Allab, amongst the 'twelve
Stars of the West ' {W.A. I. II. xlix. No. 1).

Lik-mahh, 'the Lion' {Leo). Sem. Aru.

Qisbar, 'the Wood-of -light ' (17, y, t„ ft, e, X Leonis). Called
a ' god ' in K. 163 + K. 218. A lunar asterism.

Qam, 'the Sickle' (Same stars). This name remains in use
at present, these six stars forming, with Hegulus (Lugal), the
Sickle of Leo. Gam, called ' the weapon of Merodakh' (W.A.I.
V. xlvi. 3) is an exact stellar reduplication of the hhereb, harpe,
sickle, of Kronos and Perseus (Vide sup. pp. 179-80). This
Gam is distinct from Qam, the lunar asterism mentioned in
W. A. I. V. xlvi. 3.

Lugal, ' the King,' Sem. Sarru, Gk. Bao-tXio-Kos, Lat. Begtdus
(a Leonis. Vide sup. p. 62). Another name still in use.

Maru sa ribU arkat Sarru, ' the Small-one in the region
after the King ' (p Leonis).

Bis- Aril, ' the Head-of-the-Lion ' (e Leonis).

Katsir-ninahe, ' the Month-of-the-Snake-drinks ' (6, i,, p, c, 8
Hydrae).

Alia, Sem. Tsiru, 'the Snake' (Alphard, a Hydrae). This
star is called Alia, which is explained as Tsi-i-ru (Vide
Briinnow, Class. List, p. 249), in Tab. K. 7010.

ADDITIONAL NOTES. 36 1

Tsir-gal, 'Gre&i-sn&ke' {Hydra. Vide swp. pp. 104-6). Called
a ' god ' in W. A. I. III. Ixvi. 26 B. The seven-headed Tsir-
mahh (' Mighty-snake ') of W. A. I. II. xix. 13. Nabukudurra-
utsur III., when he restored Babilu, set up huge bulls and
serpents of bronze at the thresholds of the gates {Cylinder
<38-7-9, 1. 1. 20-22). In an interesting text, Tab. 81-2-4, 224,
which treats of various mystical Serpents, the Tsiru-gal-lu is
apparently identified with ' the Serpent of Ann ' ; and, in
a constellational aspect, may be Hydra. In this case, ' the
Serpent of £a,' also mentioned, will probably be ' the River of
the Snake,' i.e., !fia's river, the Euphrates, and, in a constella-
tional aspect, Eridanus (Vide Sayce, Eel. Anc. Bahs. p. 281).

(Ak.) Kas Utu, (Sem.) Kharrdn Samsi (Sup. p. 48), "the
Sun-path ' = the Ecliptic.

END OF VOL. I.

G. NORMAN AND SON, PBINTEES, ILOIVAI. STBEET, COVENT GARDEN.

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

POSEIDON. 3,s M.

nlJn'it.v "rlivi,*°/™°">^',™**' "',?* " Pos*"'''""." in 0"g>n. is not an Aryan, but a Semitic antB-
Hdinitic (livraity, and liis ciiltus passed over into Greece from CliaUla-a by way of
Phoemcia and Libye. We have no objection to tlie proposition.'— ^Wk,,,.

'■»■;».

Mr. Brown seems to ns fully to grasp what the Solar theory is, and he makes
cnticisms on some parts of its most thorough-going forms, which we venture to think are
not wholly wide of the mark. In short he draws a distinction which is perhaps not an
unreasonable one He is reaily to go as far as Professor Miiller, but not so far as-
5lr. Cox. — baturday Rcviev.

' A work of remarkable scholarship.'— Sfcindm-d.

' We awald all praise to its author for his most elaborate, though by no means tedious-
demonstrations. -Oa/orcZ Undcrgradtiutes' Journal.

'The Author maintains his proposition with an amount of ingenuity and learning which
will no doubt lead many readers to give an attentive perusal to the book.'— A'otes ami
Queries.

THE GREAT DIONYSIAK MYTH.
2 vols. 125 each,

'A work of singular research and of bold and original thought.' Stan iJard.

' A mine of careful thought and valuable instruction.'— The Rev. Sir G. W. Cox, m.a.,.
Author of Mythology o/tlie Aryan Nations.

' I hailed your title with delight, which was in no way diminished by my perusal of the
opening portions of the work."— The late Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, m.p.

'Mr. Brown's first volume is an addition to religious mythology. The author treats the
qutstion by *' a scientific consideration of the historic course of religious thought. " There
is something fascinating in this first part, which leaves thinking readers impatient to-
pOHsess the sequel.' — Notes and Queries.

' This book is characterised by unsparing labour and research, the results of which arc
stated very clearly, and with the sensibleness that comes of taking a broad view of things.
The quantity of material brought together to piove the main argument, that Uionysos was-
not a deity of Aryan but of Semitic origin, is unparalleled.'— ^ratZem^/.

'To the task of exploring tl)is field Mr. Brown has brought a steady resolution and
a judicial impartiality which deserve all praise. The admission tliat Semitic thought and
woi-'ship exercised some influence on those of the Gret-ks justifies the attempt to determine,
if Me can, the character of this influence; there, Mr. Brown has done excellent service-

Wc think that he has fairly proved liis main points, that the idea and worship of

Dionysos are non-Hellenic and Senjitic. In the working ont of this subject he has brought
together a vast body of most interesting and important matter, and handled it with great
skill. Mr. Brown has fully established his title to our gratitude for a vast amount of
.solid work already done.'— ^Saturday Review.

' Mr. Brown has, it must be conceded, fully established his main point We-

admit gladly that he has done enough to win for himself a wide and permanent reputa-
tion," — iSaturday Iteview (On Vol. II.).

* Le nom de M. Robert Brown, auteur du Grand Mytlie Dionysiaque, est bien connu des
mythologues, qui n'ont point oublie ses travaux sur le dieu Poseidon, M. Robert Brown
s'est donne pour tache de determiner la part qui revient h. I'influence semitique dans la
mytholngie grecque, et il a trouv^ que cette part ^tait considerable. 11 surprend des traces-
d'un element oriental bien caract^rise dans les rites, dans les id^es, et dans les mots.
Son livre sur le dieu des mers avait pour but de demontrer que ni le nom, ni la conception
de Poseidon, n'avaieutune origine hellenique. L'ouvrage qu'il consacre a Dionysos est
traite de meme dans un esprit d'opposition aux mythologues qui rattachcnt etroitcment le

' j)antheon grec au pantheon vedique Le Grand Mythe Dionysiaqve est un ouvrage

aolide autant qu'int^ressant.' — JiihliotMque Universelle et Jievue Suisse,

' The title hardly suggests to an ordinary person the vast amount of ground which the author
covers. The Dionysiak Myth, in his view, is nothing less than a picture of all the most

Iiiiportant aspects of human life ; and mankiiul, in cnmposing it, may be said, in his words,
tohave been "revealing their own nature and mental basis." Mr. Brown has produced
two learned volnmes, in which the whole matter and many collateral matters are
elaborately discussed.'— Sj3ec(a(or.

' Among the numerous works which the constantly- growing interest in archseology haa
called forth, Mr. Brown's treatise will be regarded as entitled to high favour. His labours
will enable us to read our Bibles and ancient classics more understandingly. He has

performed a prodigious deal of hard work, and done it admirably Dionysoshas

lieen selected as tlie central figure, because his history covers the entire field of research.
Mr. Brown brings to his work the charm of novelry, and even of romance. The thorough-
ness, fidelity, and conscientiousness which he displays are most exceptional.' — The
Library Table (New York).

'The story is as interesting as a romance to the archEcolo^ical inquirer. A profusion
of authors are quoted to facilitate the investigation and to substantiate the conclusions.
It must be acknowli^dged that they altogether appear to constitute a very satisfactory
^explanation.' — Tlie Evolation (New York).

' The Author of The Great Dioiiysialc Myth has given a fuller and more interior view
of the fancied grape-god. We are conducted tlirougli a world of classical and mythological
research far outside of Olympus, and even of Greece, over Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and the
far Orient.' — The Medical Tribuiui (New York).

' During the twelve years which have passed since the publication of the first edition,
a large amount of solid work has been done within the domain of comparative mythology.
Of the results so gained, probably the most important is the clearer light thrown on the
influence of Semitic theology on the theology and religion of the Greeks, This momentous
question I have striven to treat impartially ; and for my treatment of it I have lu
acknowledge my obligations to Mr. Robert Brown's valuable researches in the field of the
great Dionysiak Myth.' — Rev. Sir. G. W. Cox, Preface to the new edition of The Mythology
of the Aryan Nations.

LANGUAGE, AND THEORIES OF ITS
ORIGIN. Is.

'1 have been delighted with what you have written. I know of no other publication
in which the present state of the question, in regard to the origin of speech, is presented
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'Mr. Brown has put together in a very clear and compact form the different theories
that have been set forth of late years as to the origin of language. He has gone to the
best authorities, and shows a wide extent of reading. At the same time he exercises an
independent judgment in regard to the theorie.s he describe.^, Ireely criticising those from
which he differs. We can thoroughly recommend the pamphlet.' — Auulcmy.

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THE UNICORN :

A MYTHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIOX. OS.

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'A delightful excursion into fairyland.'— J. E. Taylor, f.l.b., etc. etc., Editor of
Science Gossip.

'Mr. Brown has given us a pleasant, instructive, and original little book. It was
a happy thought to impress heraldry into the service of mytliology, and show how the
arms of England are the last embodiment of an old Aryan legend. Mr. Brown brings
together a vast amount of apt illustration to prove his case. In reading his book we
cannot but be struck by the abundant stores of solid learning it displays and the attempt
of the author always to refer to the latest and best authorities. We are led easily and
pleasantly on from one point to another, beginning with the art of primteval Babylonia,
and ending with the Scottish iiuicorn, introduced by James I., as the sinister suipnrter of
the royal arms. We must not forget to notice the Scandinavian unicorn, carved on the
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THE LAW OF KOSMIC ORDER.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PHYSICAL ASPECT OF

TIME. 85.

' Mr. Brown comes to the conclusion that the year was regarded by the Accadians as an
extended nycthemaron, half the signs being diurnal or relating to tlie deities of day, and
the other half being nocturnal, concerned with myths of the night. Early man thus
recognized that thex-e was one and the same law of *' Kosmic Order " pervading all con-
ceptions of time. In the course of his investigation Mr. Brown draws upon Egyptian
and Iranian sources, but his chief materials are necessarily derived from the iiionuments

of ancient Babylonia We can thoroughly recommend his interesting book to

those who care to study a curious chapter in jn-iniitive astronomy.' — Nature.

' The author of The Great Dionysiak Myth is a laborious student. Tt seems but yesterday
that we noticed his pamphlet on the unicorn, and now we have another book which must
have taken, one woukl suppose, years of study to bring it to its present state of perfection.

To us moderns, however ignorant we may be, the idea of time is regulated by

a multitude of events of daily and almost hourly occurrence, and but very few of us ever
look back to a period when it had tio be worked out bit by bit. Mr. Brown has done this

thoroughly well in his own deeply learned fashion The book is an important

contribution to science, which no future investigator iu the same field can afford to
overlook." — Notes and Queries.

* By Kosmic Order Mr, Brown means " The harmony of the Avorld in its varied round of
day, night, week, month, season, and year." His present work is an attempt to point out
the way in which man attained to an idea of this order, so far as the year and zodiacal
signs are concerned. It is more especially with the zodiacal signs as we have received
them from the Greeks that he concerns himself. They were ultimately derived from the
Accadians, who first mapped out the sun's course through the sky, and gave to each
section of it the names by which the signs are still, for the most part, known. Mr, Brown
claims to have shown that the signs, when the mythological conceptions which lie at the
bottom of them are examined, fall naturally into two groups, six being diurnal and six
nocturnal. In this way the year became to early men the day of twenty-four (or rather
twelve) hours on an enlarged scale. We always find in Mr. Brown's writings proofs of wide
reading and happy suggestions. There are very few of his statements with which we
should be disposed to quarrel, and the general reader cannot fail to find his work both
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THE PHAINOMENA, OR 'HEAVENLY
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and in the first half of this volume he has a series of passages at arms with Mr. Lang", and
does sometimes dialectically "draw blood" . . . Totemism, tii'este.aling, bear-cults, mouse-
cults, earth-myths, dawn myths, Mr. Brown has a "go" at them all, and Mr. Lang will
need to sharpen his rapier once more.' — Tlie. London Review.

'A work which ought to find a place on the shelves of all students of myths and
folklore . . . admirably written.'— .Ec/w.

'This is a lively and vigorous assault-at-anns in three bouts, defensive, offensive, and
constructive ... In the second part Mr. Brown takes up . . . his axe . . . and butchers
Mr. Lang on his own account ... On the intrinsic and fundamental issue we find
ourselves in substantial agreement with Mr. Brown's contention that old Greek myths
-•and Greek religion contain a considerable admixture of Semitic and other Oriental
elements . . . Mr. Brown is doing a good service in amassing and emphasizing the
evidence.' — Manchester Guardian.

' A substantial contribution to mythological study.'— G^a^j/ow Herald.

*Real knowledge of Euphratean mythology.'— iiferaiwre.

'A clever interesting volume ... the student of mythology will find many things
■delightfully well put.'— Expository Times.

' Mr. Brown is probably right in emphasizing Semitic influence on various myths. '—The
LitErary World.

' Mr. Brown playfully criticises the two authors [Prof. Max Miiller and Mr. A. Lang]
above mentioned, leaning somewhat to the side of Prof. Max Miiller. '—The Oxford Magazine.

' There are many features in the classical mythology that we learned at school which are
plainly not of Greek origin. Whence do they come? Mr. A. Lang thinks they can be
traced t^ the beliefs of savages ; but Mr. Brown thinks they were borrowed bodily fmm
tlie civilized inhabitants of Western Asia. It is most probable that Mr. Brown is right

. , . Mr. Brown has clone good work . . . and has in particular made much progress in tht
identiftcation of the Babylonian constellations with the Graek.'— Academy.

* Into the midst of the battle of the three principal directions of Mythological Science
in England, the Author leads us with lively and often delightful humour. Max MiiUer
has put together his thoughts concerning language, myth and religion in the Contributions
to the SdeTice of Mytlwlogy, 1S97. The Arians had before their separation, a formulated
belief in divinities, in which they embodied the great natural phenomena, namely the
Solar. Once more does Andrew Lang, his old adversary, light him in his [Lang's] Modem.
Mythology, with the insufficient weapons of his known anthropological theory. Thou^'h
Brown declares himself full of respect for the former and finishes olf the latter with
sharp humour, still lie blames MiiUer for several weaknesses ; and, more especially, as a
principal fault, for his disinclination to admit that .so many Hellenic divinities and
mythical stories can be explained by Semitic influence. Most certainly the powerful
Semitic cult-centre on the Euphrates carried forward an influence more clearly seen year
by year from new discoveries, not only on domestic life and knowledge, but 'also on tlie
belief of Hellas. Brown recognizes Semitic extraction in a Greek divinity (1) If the name
and its principal myths do not appear in the other Arian mythologies ; (2) If Arian nature-
myths provide no simple and appropriate explanation of its existence ; (3) If its cult is
found in territory either non-Arian, or governed by non-Arian influence; (4) When the
form is more or less unanthropomorphic ; (5) When the character and history harmonize
with the character and history of non-Arian divinities ; and (6) When Arian philology is
not in a position to explain its name, and some or most of its principal features. Thus
does he explain Kronos, Poseidon, Dionysos, Aphrodite and Herakles as Semitic beings ;
but further, also Ino, Athamas = Tammuz, Kirke, Hekate, the llian Athene, the picture
of the Under-world Nekyia, and the Greek constellations." — Anzcigcrjur Indogemanische
,Sjirac/i- uiid Aliertumslcuudi'.